Sometimes we resist the work of Jesus. Whether it’s conscious or not, whether we state it aloud or not, our inner response is, “No.”
Sometimes we expect more of Jesus than is necessary. Or more than he is offering. Our expectations can exceed his good purposes.
Both come from the same inner illness: control. We don’t like feeling out of control. We like things and people and customs in their proper, expected place. So even when Jesus wants to break beyond our expectations and comfort zone, we push back.
Both indicate a need for the same remedy: surrender. Surrendering to the will of Jesus is the core posture of a disciple. But yielding to him in everything is hard to learn, because there is so much about control that we must first unlearn.
