Exodus 10:26 Our cattle also shall go with us; there shall not an hoof be left behind; for thereof must we take to serve the LORD our God; and we know not with what we must serve the LORD, until we come thither.
Stubborn or Determined?
Is there a virtue in being stubborn? We often feel like it is good to be determined, but bad to be stubborn. But, if you look these words up in the dictionary, there is just a subtle difference. Stubborn means “refusing to change your ideas or to stop doing something” or “to be difficult to deal with.” Sometimes, it can be good to be stubborn, if you are stubborn for the truth. However, I think stubbornness is primarily negative. It is a negative of “I won’t.”
Determination is a quality that makes you “continue trying to do or achieve something that is difficult.” You are not doing it because it’s easy, but because it’s right. That is positive. It is not saying, “I won’t.” It is saying, “I will.” When we think about the connotations of the words, the difference between being stubborn and being determined is how and for whom it is employed.
In Exodus 10 we find a stubborn man and a determined man. The stubborn man was Pharaoh. Over and again when God said, “Let my people go,” Pharaoh said, “I won’t.” Now he was a little more subtle than that because he would say, “Well, you may go, BUT…” There was always a caveat. Stubbornness only finds a wall, but submission always finds a way.
In verse 26, Moses finds a way where Pharaoh had found a wall. He says, “Our cattle also shall go with us; and there shall not be a hoof be left behind; for thereof must we take to serve the LORD our God.” He wasn’t being stubborn: he was being willing to do what God had said. Earlier he said, “We will….for we must.” Moses essentially says, “We do not know exactly how it is that we will serve God. We only know that we must.”
Today, are you being stubborn or determined? Are you being self-willed or willing? If you are being self-willed, that is a stubbornness no one needs, and it can only lead to heartache. If you are being determined in your willingness to do what God asks you to do, you can do what you must do.
May we be marked by a willingness to obey, and not a stubbornness of disobedience. May we find a way instead of complaining about a wall. God helps those who are willing.