Stubbornness

Zech. 7: 11

But they refused to pay attention and turned a stubborn shoulder and stopped their ears that they might not hear.

What a great description of stubbornness! God spoke through Zechariah saying, Render true judgments, show kindness and mercy to one another, do not oppress the widow, the fatherless, the sojourner, or the poor, and let none of you devise evil against another in your heart. Does that sound that bad? It actually sounds like a good code of behavior for any society. Yet the people refused to pay attention and turned a stubborn shoulder and stopped their ears that they might not hear. They made their hearts diamond-hard lest they should hear the law and the words that the Lord of hosts had sent by His Spirit through the former prophets. Refusal, stubborn shoulders, ears stopped, and diamond-hard hearts. Boy, they were leaving nothing to chance. Sadly, that is the picture of the human heart apart from God. But I must ask myself if I have ever manifested any of those actions and attitudes? I must guard my heart and its softness and tenderness to God and not let the old ways of the flesh take any root in my life. In Zechariah's time, what was the Lord's response? His anger was great and He scattered them with a whirlwind among the nations in places they had never been and their land was left desolate. For their attitudes and actions, they lost all! God's judgment and discipline is a reality. He must deal with sin when it becomes such a pattern of disobedience.

Father,
Help me never to be like this. Convict me when any of these attitudes begin to take root in my heart and life.
In Jesus name,
Amen