Stand Like Flint

June 17

“Behold, I have made your face strong against their faces, and your forehead strong against their foreheads. Like adamant stone, harder than flint, I have made your forehead; do not be afraid of them, nor be dismayed at their looks, though they are a rebellious house,” Ezekiel 3:8-9

Some people are intractable. Oh, yes, we all have our moments of stubbornness but there are those among us who make dealing with them quite unpleasant simply because their challenging personalities pose virtually insurmountable walls of resistance to any open, objective, constructive communication.

God’s word in the matter seems to be that we are to ‘tough it out.’ If they are resistant and hard-headed in their opposition to common sense, to reason, to amicable interaction, to compromise, to solution-finding, then we must be just as resolute in our determination to stand firm in truth.

Whether our opposition comes from rebellious children or uncompromising parents or difficult neighbors or deceitful professional associates or godless world views, our charge is to stand fast in truth. We must not simply be obstinate; no, the Lord would not have us to merely reflect the mindset of those around us who pit themselves against Him. Rather, He would have us to be “adamant stone, harder than flint and undismayed” as we stand against any and all rebellion against the Holy One.

Further, we must be mindful that as He said in II Chronicles 20:15 when a vast army stood against King Jehoshaphat, “the battle is not yours, but God’s.” We as believers in the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ are privileged to be among the Army of the Redeemed. We are blessed to bless—in other words, it is our prerogative to share the immutable truth of the ages with everyone around us.

Those against whom we find ourselves are those who oppose the Lord Jesus. As He said, “If the world hates Me, so will it hate you,” John 15:18. Jesus makes it very clear that if we were “of the world,” we would be accepted by the world. It’s the very fact that the Christ in us challenges every negative thing that the world stands for that people who are not surrendered to Him find intolerable when they see Jesus in us.

People of today’s world declare themselves to be extremely tolerant. They will gladly allow and even embrace any behavior, any departure from godly truth or social mores, and even any world view—no matter how odious its tenets—as long as the people of God do not insist that there is one way to God and that is “Jesus Christ and Him crucified,” I Corinthians 2:2.

The Apostle Paul was adamant—there is nothing else worth knowing or teaching but the unshakable truth that Jesus is the Author and Finisher of our salvation (see Hebrews 12:2.)

So, dear Child of God, if you find yourself in conflict with those who do not embrace the Lord who has saved you and who loves you, “count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing,” James 1:2-4.

The obstinacy of those around you is rooted in their recalcitrance against God. Your charge is to stand like flint against it—not in your own strength, but, “Be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might,” Ephesians 6:10.