From Resistance to Acceptance
For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery. (Galatians 5:1)
I’ve written nearly two thousand devotions, and I have never written one as “do as I say and not as I do” as this one. No matter how often I attempt to practice the spiritual discipline of acceptance, I am left wanting. So, when I read David Gergen’s article “The Spiritual Practice That Helps Me the Most,” I felt an instant disappointment when I read his words, “Accepting and not resisting what comes my way.” My go-to response is to address and fix it. Fixing it is the opposite of the spiritual practice of acceptance. Fixing is about resistance.
When we resist a challenging situation, we risk taking on a role not ours to own. Why is fixing it my immediate response when much of life is beyond my control? Acceptance is a spiritual response because what is beyond our control is not beyond God’s control. Illness, death, and job loss are some situations beyond our control. We attempt to fix it because the alternative is too painful, the trust that comes from acceptance.
Gergen offers a three-step process to overcoming the pain of unhelpful resistance. Step one is to “become aware.” Speaking of the spiritual practice of acceptance is your call to awareness. Step two is to “commit” to working on the issue. We fulfill step two by instituting step 3, to start “practicing.” The practice that helps me is meditation. I’ve shared before that I use the app “Headspace” as my form of guided meditation. Meditation lowers my anxiety and allows me, at a deeper level, to experience acceptance in the moment. During meditation, I intentionally offer my frustrations over to God because God is the one who can make lasting change.
Today, mentally walk through each of Gergen’s three steps. Awareness begins by acknowledging your control issues. Once recognition takes place, commitment is required. You commit because you realize learning acceptance brings peace to your soul and deeper trust in God. Finally, begin a practice of acceptance. Perhaps it is meditation. Prayerfully find your way to roll with life’s punches. If you work the three steps, God will become more recognizable, diminishing your resistance. Your life will be less anxious because you are not the only one in control of your situation.