How can I keep from being stubborn?

2 Chronicles 30:8“Do not be stubborn, as they were, but submit yourselves to the Lord. Come to his Temple, which he has set apart as holy forever. Worship the Lord your God so that his fierce anger will turn away from you.”

We need to submit to God’s leading in our lives by obeying him and not insisting on doing things our own way.

1 Chronicles 16:11Search for the Lord and for his strength; continually seek him.

We need to begin by seeking God’s wisdom and guidance, before we form wrong opinions and make decisions to pursue sinful paths.

Hebrews 3:13You must warn each other every day, while it is still “today,” so that none of you will be deceived by sin and hardened against God.

Fellowship with other believers, which includes exhorting and warning one another, can keep us accountable for our actions and preserve us from developing hard hearts. We all need people in our lives who can call us out if we are being stubborn.

Exodus 7:13Pharaoh’s heart, however, remained hard. He still refused to listen, just as the Lord had predicted.

1 Samuel 1:15“Oh no, sir!” she [Hannah] replied. “I haven’t been drinking wine or anything stronger. But I am very discouraged, and I was pouring out my heart to the Lord.”

Pharaoh had a hard, stubborn heart. No matter how much he heard about God or how many miracles he saw, he refused to believe. Eventually, stubbornness became his only response. Hannah, however, continued to pray to God even when nothing seemed to happen. We need to examine the condition of our hearts. Is it hard and stubborn, or does it reach out to God whatever the circumstances we face? When we cut ourselves off from God, we are cutting off our lifeline to the only One who can really help us. A stubborn heart rejects the only thing that can save it—God’s love. A tender heart will seek God’s help and notice his perfectly timed responses.

Hosea 12:6So now, come back to your God. Act with love and justice, and always depend on him.

We need to admit that we have been resisting God in order to return to a life of trust and dependence on him.

Colossians 1:21-22You were his [God’s] enemies, separated from him by your evil thoughts and actions. Yet now he has reconciled you to himself through the death of Christ in his physical body.

Jesus Christ can remove our spiritual stubbornness and reconcile us to God.