JULY 28, 2015
Pencil Battle
Read:
Judges
2:11-22
They
did not cease from their own doings nor from their stubborn way. —Judges 2:19
As I learned to write
my letters, my first-grade teacher insisted that I hold my pencil in a specific
way. As she watched me, I held it the way she wanted me to. But when she turned
away, I obstinately reverted the pencil to the way I found more comfortable.
I thought I was the
secret winner in that battle of the wills, and I still hold my pencil in my own
peculiar way. Decades later, however, I realize that my wise teacher knew that
my stubborn habit would grow into a bad writing practice that would result in
my hand tiring more quickly.
Return to the Lord; He
is gracious and merciful.
Children rarely
understand what is good for them. They operate almost entirely on what they
want at the moment. Perhaps the “children of Israel” were aptly named as
generation after generation stubbornly insisted on worshiping the gods of the
nations around them rather than the one true God. Their actions greatly angered
the Lord because He knew what was best, and He removed His blessing from them
(Judg. 2:20-22).
Pastor Rick Warren
says, “Obedience and stubbornness are two sides of the same coin. Obedience
brings joy, but our stubbornness makes us miserable.”
If a rebellious spirit
is keeping us from obeying God, it’s time for a change of heart. Return to the
Lord; He is gracious and merciful.
Heavenly Father, You
are loving and gracious, and eager to forgive when we return to You. May we
pursue you with our whole heart and not cling to our stubborn tendency to want
things our way.
First we make our habits; then our habits make
us.
Source: Our Daily Bread 2015