Faith vs. Bullheadedness
1 Corinthians 13:13 - “And now there remain faith, hope, and love, but the greatest of these is love.”
If you were ever a part of the Word of Faith camp this will hit home for you. I know. I was. And I struggled at times because things weren’t working the way I thought they would from the Word of God. This had to do with being “bullheaded” and not listening to the promptings of the Lord Jesus. Rather sticking to my own ideas and thoughts, rather than the Lord’s.
Definitions:
1. Faith: belief.
2. Bullheaded: stubborn, headstrong, obstinate, unreasonably stubborn.
We can see from the definitions these two are very different from each other. In fact, being bullheaded is void of love.
And when you are doing all you’re supposed to with Scripture, confessions, prayer, without love…It won’t work. God is love. And when we are not operating in love, we are not operating in God.
Love is the root of all things with God! And if we aren’t operating in love, nothing will work.
We can become obstinate when we want things to work out our way. But is your way what God wants?
Two of the ways to test yourself about this check your “joy” level. No joy, then your off. (In His presence is fullness of joy.) The other is: Does whatever you’re standing on in Scripture only benefit you? Most likely it is void of love.
Bottom Line:
-
Are you staying pliable, sensitive to the Holy Spirit?
-
Are you keeping a pliable hear to His promptings and doing what He gives you to do?
-
Are spending time in the Word, praise, and in prayer with the Lord?
-
Can you forgive those who have hurt you?
-
Are you looking at our life through the lens of love?
If the answer to any of the questions is “no” - then on purpose ask for forgiveness and ask the Lord to teach you what you need to know. Then act on whatever He gives you to do. Many times it is simply changing your attitude. Sometimes it’s changing how you see a situation.
Always ask the Holy Spirit for help. He is our Helper. He will show you what needs to be done.