Stubborn

A while back, my pastor preached a sermon on spiritual warfare. During his sermon, he took time to look back into the Old Testament and the story of David and Goliath in 1 Samuel 17. That following Wednesday morning, while I was with Sherann, I went with her to chapel at her work. The man who preached that morning took time to talk about the story of David and Goliath. After chapel, Sherann and I talked for a few minutes about how funny it was the same message was mentioned. The following Sunday, while at a retreat with Sherann, the preacher that morning focused on the story of David and Goliath. During the service, when the preacher first mentioned the story, Sherann turned to me and simply lifted up her hand and showed me three fingers. As we walked away from that worship service, again we talked and laughed about the “coincidence” of this story being preached to us three separate times, by three separate people, in three separate locations. I asked her, “How stubborn are we that God sees the need to send us a message three times for us to get the point?”

 

I was reminded of this recently as, once again, I seem to find many areas of my life colliding and I’m forced to ask once again, “How stubborn am I that God sees the need to send me the same message over and over again for me to get the point?”

 

Or perhaps the better question is, “Why am I not getting the point the first time?! What’s holding me back? What’s closing me off from what God is trying to tell me?”

 

Are you so stubborn that God has to tell you something multiple times before you get it?

 

Have you ever taken time to think about what was holding you back from hearing the message the first time?

 

What have you found helpful in opening yourself up to hearing God the first time?