Obstinate

 

“I gave them this command: ‘Obey me, and I will be your God and you will be my people. Walk in all the ways I command you, that it may go well with you.’ But they did not listen or pay attention; instead they followed the stubborn inclinations of their evil hearts. They went backward and not forward.”

—Jeremiah 7:23-24.

Blame it on a poor regular classroom teacher, poor class makeup, or even on my inability to teach them in my music class, this group of fourth graders made it impossible for me to deal with them! Even though I happened to love this age group the best, this particular class seemingly refused to allow me to teach them.

I had so many fun teaching games and songs to use with them. I knew that if they had only given me a chance, they would have loved my class and learned a lot about music at the same time. Every singing game that involved holding hands in a circle ended in some kind of tug of war, or in a refusal to participate. Games with a ball ended with someone trying to “get” another classmate.

These children preferred to goof around, waste class time watching each other play foolishly, while generally refusing to enjoy the lessons I had so carefully planned and developed for their best interest. I modified my lessons to do everything I could to turn these students around. And then, they had the audacity to complain that they were bored!

Do we treat our Lord the same way? Do we refuse to accept His plans for us and generally do everything we can to make it impossible for Him to deal with us? Do we miss the good things He wants for us because we think we have better ideas?

Sometimes, we stubbornly hold on to things that do nothing to help us, or give us joy. We fight against those individuals whom God has brought alongside us and given to us for the sake of His good purposes. Then, we wonder why our lives disappoint us, and the Lord seems so far away from us.

If this attitude describes us, we must turn from our selfish, sinful ways, confess our sins, and return to the Lord and His mercy. We need to promptly acknowledge His righteous and loving purposes for us. And, we need to take to heart the message of these verses from Micah 7:18-19:

Who is a God like you, who pardons sin and forgives the transgression of the remnant of his inheritance? You do not stay angry forever but delight to show mercy. You will again have compassion on us; you will tread our sins underfoot and hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea.