I want to start by admitting something I’m not great at: accepting anything that isn’t my idea. I don’t throw tantrums when life pulls me out of my comfort zone, but there’s always this internal resistance — a tightening in my chest, a physical pushback like my body is bracing for something it doesn’t want to face. A thought enters, and suddenly I’m running every worst-case scenario… full-blown future tripping. I try to stay calm, but underneath is a quiet hum whispering, “This is going to suck.”
I try to reason with myself. The logic is sound, the words reassuring. But it’s like the mind has already been hijacked. I’m negotiating with an armed robber who has taken the wheel. My words make sense, but my mind and body reply, “Whatever, buddy. We’ve got this. You sit back there.”
Prayer and meditation help. They always do. But the peace often lasts only as long as the session, and soon the mind tries to retake control. That’s when something Eckhart Tolle said hits home:
“The ego’s survival depends on resistance. Surrender is its death.”
And when I think about it, nothing meaningful in my life — nothing good, nothing worthwhile — has ever come without being pushed. I hand out advice to my kids about stepping outside their comfort zones, but when that push comes for me, suddenly it feels different. Suddenly the ego resists, fights, tightens.
But slowly — and I mean slowly — I’m coming to see these moments as something else entirely. These aren’t punishments. They’re invitations. They’re openings where my instinct to resist is actually the doorway to deeper surrender. And when I surrender, I find myself moving closer to God, not further away.
Because resistance is the ego’s language…
but surrender is God’s.
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to Him, and He will make your paths straight.”
— Proverbs 3:5–6
Closing Prayer
Heavenly Father,
When my mind resists and my heart tightens, help me choose surrender instead of control. Teach me to trust You more than my fears, more than my emotions, and more than the stories my ego tells. Calm the future-tripping in me and anchor me in Your presence.
Thank You for every push that draws me closer to You.
Lead me, guide me, and strengthen me as I learn the peace of letting go.
Amen.
