Stubborn Hearts...Hard of Hearing

But My people did not listen to My voice, and Israel did not obey Me. So I gave them over to the stubbornness of their heart, to walk in their own devices. (Psalm 81:11-12)

Once I actually heard some people telling one another that they were glad about their stubbornness. It was as if they were boasting about it. They thought that being stubborn was a positive character trait. Perhaps they were confusing it with steadfastness or perseverance...standing where God has decreed we stand and doing what God has commanded us to do. My grandfather used the term stubborn to describe his mules...who often stood where they wanted to stand and refused his commands to pull the plow. So with mules, stubbornness really leads nowhere. In God's people stubbornness leads us somewhere, but nowhere we really want to go.
There are privileges of obedience in God's people. Things go well with those who obey. They gain faith in increasing measure. They receive the provision of God's blessing upon their lives. There are also consequences of disobedience for God's people as well. The stubbornness of Israel as a people made them hard of hearing when it came to voice of God. They refused to do what God commanded and go where God desired. I believe that malady is afflicting the people of God in our day as well. Our stubbornness leads us somewhere, away from God's presence and into ourselves. Our stubbornness can lead us so far away from the Lord we can no longer hear His word even when we want to. We have become hard of hearing by our own design and God gives us over to our own devices. And that's the way we live our lives...trusting in ourselves and the world's design to order our lives without the wisdom of the Word of God. To walk in our own devices is to practice unbelief as a believer. This comes about when God lets us have our way...and we go our own way. Stubbornness surely leads us somewhere...nowhere.
When we stop listening to the word of the Lord we will see our faith diminish. Life can get hard for God's people without the wisdom of God. When we hear the teachings of Jesus, the great narratives of Israel's journey with God, and the great epics of faith as only stories without life application we don't learn about life in any meaningful way. We all know people who can tell great Bible stories but are lousy at life. They are consistently demonstrating an obvious disconnect between what they claim to believe and how they actually live. You see, God never tells His story for our amusement...He tells it for our salvation. He is not the Great Entertainer...He is the Great Deliverer. He gives us His word to hear and heed...to practice its principles and sustain our life. God's people are privileged as long as they listen to the Word of God. We are exposed to the enemy when we don't.
So is there a remedy for this disorientation? I think so. Listen to the word of the Lord and and live like the Lord desires. Don't be like a mule. Be like the Lord.