Then they will not be like
their ancestors—stubborn, rebellious, and unfaithful, refusing to give their
hearts to God. Psalm 78:8 NLT
Something magical happened when my grandfather whispered the
words, “Giddy up.”
I’ve seen only a few mules in my lifetime. Yet being familiar
with the saying, “stubborn as a mule,” gives me a clue about their personality.
My grandfather knew mules and their nature. His father died when he was twelve,
leaving him to run the family farm. An uncle helped him, but for some reason,
mules didn’t appreciate Uncle Ransom. When he gave the command to “giddy up,”
they didn’t budge—at least, most of the time. Or if they did, they stubbornly
plowed a crooked row. When my grandfather asked, however, they plowed in
straight rows. Something in Uncle Ransom’s nature brought out the stubbornness
of the mule’s nature.
Later, after my grandfather gave up farming and began delivering
ice, then milk, and finally ice cream, he encountered stubbornness once
again—and benefited from it. Some business owners were quite challenging to
work with because of their stubborn nature. What other salesmen couldn’t deal
with and threw up their hands to, my grandfather confronted with his patient
nature and won them over as customers.
God also encountered stubbornness, but not so much in pagans.
He discovered it in his chosen people. The people he had called out from among
all people groups of the world. The people to whom he delivered the Promised
Land. The people He delivered from four hundred years of slavery. Instead of
worshipping Him, they often stubbornly followed the wicked ways of their
unbelieving neighbors.
I can name a few times when I’ve been stubborn as well.
Wanted to do things my way instead of God’s way. Thought I knew best. God gave
me good examples to follow, and I stubbornly chose the bad instead.
Stubbornness keeps us out of God’s will. Like a mule, we’ll
refuse to budge toward God’s revealed will, or we’ll plow a crooked row of
inconsistency in obedience. When we’re out of God’s will, paucity follows.
God’s blessings can’t—or won’t—flow when we’re living in stubborn disobedience.
God suggests a cure: remember his blessings of the past and
obey his commands. When we do this, we’ll “giddy up”—and gladly, when God
whispers the command.
Don’t let stubbornness cause you to miss out on God’s best.
Father, deal with my stubborn nature, making it pliable, so I’ll
willingly obey what you tell me.
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