The Power of Resistance

Resistance, my dictionary tells me, is “the act of resisting.”  (I think I need a job as a dictionary writer!) So we go to resisting for more help. Resisting is “to exert oneself so as to counteract or defeat.” The reason I’m thinking about resistance is that I’ve been studying the people of Alma who were living in bondage in Helam. (See Mosiah 23-24.) You will remember that they had been put under guard by Amulon and are not allowed to pray vocally and were made slaves to the Lamanites. But their faith never wavered.

They couldn’t pray aloud, but no one could stop them from praying in their hearts and that they did. They prayed for deliverance and help to bear the tremendous burdens placed upon them and in response the Lord strengthened them so that their burdens seemed light. Notice, He didn’t take away their burdens, but He made them strong so they could bear their burdens.

When we want to develop strength in a muscle, we lift weights. At first a 20 pound weight may seem too heavy but as we persist in resisting against the weight our muscle grows strong until soon 20 pounds is nothing. Then we can lift 30 and eventually 40 or 50 and the more we exert ourselves to counteract the weight (resistance!), the stronger we become. Likewise when we resist evil, or idleness, or staying in our comfort zones, we grow spiritually and emotionally.

God works in our lives by making us strong, not by removing every burden.