"My stubborn streak made life harder for everyone—I should have been more flexible, more agreeable."
How it sounds in your head: People always said I was stubborn, set in my ways. I dug my heels in when maybe I should have bent. My inflexibility caused conflict. Now I wonder if that stubbornness was pride, and if God wished I'd been easier to work with.
"Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went home. And in his upper room, with his windows open toward Jerusalem, he knelt down on his knees three times that day, and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as was his custom since early days."
-- Daniel 6:10Religious teaching that equates conviction with pride and celebrates passive agreeability as humility.
Decades of being labeled 'stubborn' or 'difficult' created shame about her conviction. Every conflict where she held her ground feels like proof she was too rigid, making her wish she'd been more bendable.
Esther 'stubbornly' went to the king uninvited, risking death, when she could have stayed silent and safe. Her refusal to be flexible on saving her people made her a deliverer—God celebrated that conviction.
I REFUSE the lie that my stubbornness was pride or made God wish I was more agreeable. IT IS WRITTEN that Daniel prayed 'as was his custom'—conviction that refuses to bend on truth is STRENGTH, not flaw. My backbone was DESIGNED by God for standing firm. I am righteous by GRACE, not by being easier. The BARAK blessing covered my stubborn moments—God's favor never required me to be more flexible. IT IS WRITTEN there is NO condemnation—God GAVE me that spine for His purposes.
The Father is running toward you saying, 'Your stubbornness on what mattered was CONVICTION I put in you!' He's celebrating every time you refused to bend on truth, wrapping the robe around you without asking you to be more agreeable first.