A Stiff-Necked People

(Hey there: another long one; be blessed!)

Have you ever suffered a “crick” in your neck? You can turn your head in most directions, but when you reach a certain point, you feel this shooting pain that radiates up over your head and down your spine! It can be a most uncomfortable experience. Your range of motion is greatly diminished; in fact, most of your normal daily activities become cares-takingly difficult to perform. Driving is almost frightening!

Usually, these “cricks” are a result of sleeping wrong or suffering an injury. In the former situation, your neck grows accustomed to being positioned in a certain way after several hours of relaxation. Then, when you try to move it, your neck will “scream” out that it would much rather remain in its “new comfort” zone of motion. In the latter occurrence, an injury, your neck healed “wrong,” and when you try to readjust its position, it will not conform to your initiation readily.

For example, when I was in high school, I was a soccer coach/counselor for a church camp. I had a co-counselor helper, who was about my age; young, frisky guy, who really enjoyed being my helper. In fact, he so enjoyed it, and greatly desired that I know his elation, that he began taking action on his flirtatious feelings: for a good ten minutes, he beat the top of my head with a soccer ball until the back of my neck swelled to the size of a small tangerine. After a few weeks, the swelling subsided, but the neck healed out of alignment. Ever since, I have endured a subtle ache in my neck, which worsens on occasion, and prevents me from turning my head full range of motion. Now, about seven years later, I am seeing a chiropractor to crack and tug at a neck, which would much rather remain in its stubborn fixed stupor; how do I know?...after every appointment, I am sore.

Being stiff-necked is very debilitating and is not to most pleasant of experiences. But worse than that, it is usually more painful to get “unstuck,” than it is to get in that “stuck” position in the first place.

Did you know that we can be stiff-necked on a spiritual level too? It’s true. The Lord often called the people of Israel a “stiff-necked people.”

“And the LORD said to me, ‘I have seen this people, and they are a stiff-necked people indeed…’” (Deut. 9:13)

God was not talking about their literal necks. (Can you imagine a large multitude of ancient Hebrews walking around, holding their heads in a fixed position, almost like robots?) They didn’t walk around like that in the natural sense, but to the Lord, they looked like that in His Spiritual eyes.

What does it mean to be “stiff-necked”? The Bible describes it as a state of arrogance, rebellion, stubbornness, and/or hardened hearts. (ref. 2 Chron. 36:13; Neh. 9:16; 29) But people don’t simply inherit such negative qualities. More often than not, people develop a sense of stubbornness and rebellion after years of disappointment, suffering numerous emotional and spiritual injuries that have “healed” into a state of bitterness and resentment. Other times, people grow accustomed to levels of pain or distress; it’s what they’re used to, and to try to change to a new standard of living would be seemingly more difficult than to simply remain in their “comfortable” state of discomfort.

In the case of the Israelites, they had believed for a deliverer for centuries, but once their deliverance occurred, they couldn’t receive the enormity of the blessing because they had grown accustomed to their state of slavery. They argued, resisted, and complained against the very hand that attempted to help them and answering their cries. Why? Because it was more painful for them to change into a mentality of freedom than to simply remain in their mindset of bondage. They were locked in a state of unbelief and stubborn resentment. They refused to change because it was just too hard.

We look at the Israelites, observe all the miraculous signs the Lord had performed on their behalf, and think, “Well, if I were one of them, I wouldn’t have been so unbelieving! What were they thinking?!” But did you know that, at times, we behave no differently then the ancient Hebrews?

Has God ever answered your prayer, and you rejoiced over the victory, but then a new problem arose and you immediately become ensnared with a similar fear and unbelief? “Oh God! You have to intervene in this situation! Oh no! What are we going to do? This is terrible! I can’t handle this!” It’s perfectly natural and common. We can easily forget that the same God, Who came through in one situation, is the same One, Who can come through this one too.

I’ll give you an example: It was late evening, November 14, 2002. I had just undergone a surgical procedure, in which my liver was biopsied and my gall bladder removed. I was resting in my hospital room when I received word that the physical trauma of the surgery had caused a severe adverse reaction causing my endocrine system to recoil into pancreatic shock. Nothing could be done; the likelihood of my stabilization was minute. All anyone could do was wait and pray. Strangely, despite the alarming news, I was unafraid. Engulfed in a warmth of supernatural peace, I silently prayed, surrendered to the Lord’s will, turned my head and went to sleep... I awoke early in the morning of November 15, 2002, to see the relieved and bewildered expression of my doctor peering over my bedside. With a smile on his face, and a sigh escaping his lips, he said, "Well, your pancreas is normal...you're going to be fine..." Over the night, the Lord had visited that hospital room and touched my dying frame to cause it to work as one.

Now-you would think that after a miracle like that, I would be Miss Even Keel in the face of adversity and trials, right? WRONG! The Lord has done many miracles in my body and in my life, but believe it or not, I often pressure up and am so nervous about things that really don’t matter! For example, having to cancel a lunch appointment with a friend, I become afraid of what she’s going to think, “She’ll be offended!” Ridiculous; no different than the Israelites.

But what about the times we have prayed, believed for something that we felt the Lord had laid on our hearts, and we suffered a bitter disappointment because the outcome we were expecting didn’t turn out the way we thought? Then, as if the initial setback wasn’t enough, God approaches us again with a new hope, a new dream or vision, and asks us to believe and expect for this one to come to fruition, too. What would be you’re reaction? If you’re like me…you’d be a little wary…

The Lord has been approaching me to believe and pray for things that are completely out of my “faith comfort zones,” to hope for the impossible, and I am resistant to believe that God actually desires to bless me in this the way that He is promising to. Why? Because I’m stuck. My spiritual neck is sore and stiff from past failures and disappointments when God “didn’t come through” the way I thought He should. I’ve gotten in a bind, where I “healed” in a state of “conventional wisdom;” not to believe for the “irrational.” “I’ve been let down and discouraged too many times, Lord. How can You expect me to expose my heart like that again? Will You really do what You are saying, or is this just another ‘exercise of faith’?”

Yes, at all times, we do have to check ourselves and make sure we are not hearing the voice of our own desires that are inconsistent with God’s will. Moreover, it is extremely important to bounce all things that we believe the Lord is telling us off of our respective spiritual authorities or accountability groups to gain an objective perspective and receive wise counsel. In light of these necessary measures, we are still not exempt from believing God for the impossible.

God desires us to live in a freedom of faith that goes way beyond our comfort zones…and sometimes, bringing us to that place is painful and feels downright absurd. But, by stretching us and popping us out of our comfort zones, as rationally and emotionally painful as it may seem, God is doing something in us that will bring more healing and liberty in our relationship with Him than we could possible imagine.

God does not desire us to be “stuck.” He does not want us to be “stuck” in our emotions, stuck in our livelihoods, stuck in our relationships, or even stuck in our physical bodies. He wants us to be free. This freedom, however, comes with a price. Yes, Christ died to set us free, but we have to receive the freedom He paid for. How? By believing!

“‘Don’t be afraid; just believe.’” (Mark 5:36) “…(for) with God all things are possible.’” (Matt. 19:26)

We have to come into agreement with His will for our lives. If He promises to do an impossible thing, He will do it as we believe Him for it. Christ is our Head; and we are His Body. Our connector with Him is the “neck” of our relationship: our faith. The Body moves with its head in a freedom that is proportionate to the liberty of the neck, or the faith, which connects the two. When our faith is free and flexible with the love of Christ, believing that He will never allow anything to come upon us that we cannot bear[1], nor will bring to shame those, who believe in Him[2], we can expect to receive that, which He has promised. It is only in the times that we harden our hearts and stubbornly refuse to agree with His promise, that we miss His great reward.

Let God “unstick” you; allow Him to stretch and pop you out of your “comfortable faith” in your walk with Him. Believe Him for the things you never dared to believe before. And you will experience a freedom that is beyond your wildest dreams!

“Now to Him Who, by (in consequence of) the [action of His] power that is at work within us, is able to [carry out His purpose and] do superabundantly, far over and above all that we [dare] ask or think [infinitely beyond our highest prayers, desires, thoughts, hopes, or dreams]-- To Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations forever and ever. Amen (so be it).” (Eph. 3:20-21 AMP)

[1] 1 Cor. 10:13
[2] Isa. 49:3