"I don't have to listen to you!" That's a sentence parents don't like to hear from their teenage children. It means they have decided not to obey their parents. Usually, it's spoken in anger and soon forgotten.
Sometimes, though, a teen might decide to make that attitude a way of life. When that happens, it's hard for everyone in the family. A child's refusal to obey authority creates ongoing turmoil in the home and saps the joy from life.
The teenager openly rebels, thinking he would be happier by resisting authority. But instead, he can actually become miserable in his heart.
The prophet Isaiah told about some resisters—rebellious, lying people who refused to listen to what God was saying (30:8-17). In effect, they said to Him, "We've heard enough. We don't have to listen to You!" Their heart of resistance turned them against God's truth.
Rebellion is not limited to teens or to the people of Isaiah's day. Sometimes we too wear the resister label. We read God's Word and decide it's too restrictive. Or we sense that God wants us to do something, and we run from it. That leads only to misery. Instead, if we obey God's Word, we will enjoy His peace in our hearts.
— Dave Branon
If you've rebelled and turned away
From what you know is true,
Turn back to God—He will forgive;
He waits to pardon you. —Sper
Obedience is the pathway to joy.