Stubborn

<<persistent, obstinate>>

Stubbornness is rebellion against God, a refusal to conform to divine direction and acknowledge His rightful Lordship. When you hear God’s
voice don’t harden your heart, but obey so it will go well for you and your

Am I not yielding to God in some area?

descendants (Deut 5:29, 10:16; Jer 7:13; Heb 4:7). Don’t stubbornly cling to any idol or whatever Christ challenges you to surrender, for it will make your life miserable, causing you to miss out on God’s best and will be your downfall (Ex 20:3; Mt 19:16-22). Because stubbornness is an attitude of thinking ‘I know best’, and wanting things my way, is there anything I am pretending I don’t hear God challenge me about? Be open and pliable to the Holy Spirit; live in submission and obedience to God. When you have done wrong, humbly acknowledge it and repent.

Holding strong convictions and being persistent in maintaining that stance are good qualities provided they are based on a true sound foundation, such as the clear commands of Scripture which are not open to negotiation. These essentials of the faith must be adhered to at all cost. However, in areas of personal preference or non-essentials be prepared to compromise and be tolerant of the opinions of others.

Being stubborn blinds people to the truth and leads to a hardened heart, lacking compassion for others. Pharaoh refused to let the Israelites go from Egypt on repeated occasions, resulting in enormous loss (Ex 5:1-14:31). Stubbornness is as bad as idol worship, which was punishable by death (Deut 13:12-15; 1 Sam 15:23). Wanting to control everything and being very rigid – not willing to consider an alternative approach or open to accepting new ideas – is a guaranteed way to lose friends. In fact, refusing to change or listen to advice, puts a person out of reach being helped (2 Kgs 17:13-15). Those who remain stubborn and unrepentant for their sin will be judged by God (Rom 2:5,8,9).