Stiff-Necked People

I must admit that today I am one of those stiff-necked people the Bible talks about.  Well, sort of.  The stiff-necked people in the Bible were stubborn and set in their own ways.  While that does sometimes describe me, today's stiff neck is one of a different sort.  As many of you know, I have a lot of spinal issues, and it isn't uncommon for my back, neck or shoulders to be out of sorts.  However, some days, the pain and pinching seems magnified.  Today is one of those days.

My neck was a bit stiff when I awoke this morning, but again, that's not unusual.  After a round of Pilates, my joints felt loosened, and my neck seemed to move easier.  Jason spent a few minutes rubbing my neck and shoulders before he left for work, and when he was finished, I was convinced that my neck was better (or as good as it gets).  However, within just a few minutes, an entirely new stiffness grabbed hold of my neck and has refused to let go since.  The only relief I have found is to lie back on a pillow, but I can't exactly get much work accomplished that way, now can I?

So, I've had to rearrange my schedule a bit to allow for periods of resting my neck and doing various neck stretches.  It's not exactly been fun, but the way I see it, it wouldn't be any more fun if I was experiencing the stiff neck of which the Bible speaks.  While I wouldn't necessarily be in physical discomfort, my spirit would certainly be in pain.

Stiff-necked people are stubborn and hard to get along with.  They are only content when they're getting their own way, and even then, they are fussy and moody.  Ultimately, they are unhappy.  Nothing is good enough.  Nothing satisfies.  They are a miserable lot, even more miserable than those of us with spinal issues.  In short, we don't want to be like that.

We can't exactly help it when our spinal alignment goes wonky, but we can prevent our hearts from doing the same.  Relax!  Let it go!  God has everything under control, so there's no reason for us to stress about it.  Let's keep our hearts open to the Word of God and tender to His loving touch.  After all, it's bad enough to have a pain in the neck, but it's much worse to be one!

Now be ye not stiffnecked, as your fathers were, but yield yourselves unto the Lord, and enter into his sanctuary, which he hath sanctified for ever: and serve the Lord your God, that the fierceness of his wrath may turn away from you. - II Chronicles 30:8