When We Feel Resistance

I’ve read 11/22/63 by Stephen King, and there’s a word that keeps resurfacing throughout the story: obdurate.

In the book, the past is described as obdurate. Stubborn, resistant, unwilling to be changed. The closer Jake, the main character, gets to altering something significant in history, the more the past seems to push back. Circumstances unravel. Obstacles multiply. Things just… get hard.

It’s almost as if history itself doesn’t want to be rewritten. Which makes me wonder… What if that same kind of resistance shows up in our spiritual lives?

The Resistance to Becoming

When the Holy Spirit begins to transform us, nudging us toward deeper trust, greater surrender, or a more Christlike way of living, something happens:

It doesn’t get easier.
Sometimes, it gets harder.
Temptations feel stronger.
Distractions get louder.
Doubt creeps in more subtly, more persistently.
It can feel like something is pushing back.
And maybe… something is.

Not because the enemy has authority over us, but because transformation disrupts the old way of being. The patterns we’ve lived in, the habits we’ve formed, the identities we’ve carried. They don’t just quietly fade away. They resist.

Not All Resistance Is a Red Light

One of the dangers in our faith journey is assuming that resistance means we’re doing something wrong. But what if the opposite is sometimes true? What if resistance is actually a sign that something is changing? That a new path is forming. That old ground is being broken up. That we’re no longer just drifting, we’re choosing a different way.

In 11/22/63, resistance is a warning… don’t mess with the past. But in the Kingdom of God, resistance can be an invitation… keep going.

A Different Kind of Power

One of the differences, of course, is that we’re not left to fight that resistance on our own. The same Spirit who calls us forward walks with us in it. And Scripture reminds us, “Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” (James 4:7, NIV)

That’s a very different story. Not one where resistance wins, but one where, through surrender, we do.

Pray...

Holy Spirit,

Give me discernment to recognize resistance for what it is. Not every obstacle is from You, but not every obstacle is a stop sign either. Teach me to trust You in the tension. And give me the courage to keep becoming more like Jesus, even when something in me, or around me, pushes back.

Amen.