The Day of Resistance

For me, the first few waking moments of my days are usually the times when I hear the voice of the Holy Spirit the clearest and loudest. I would venture to say that this is because those earliest moments after waking up are probably the only times of the day when my mouth and my mind are not racing 90 miles per hour.

So, yes, those first moments of the day are often profound and holy moments for me, a time when the clarity of His precious holy voice is undeniable. And also very appreciated.

Such was the case this Monday morning when I awoke.

Immediately, I heard that still, small voice of my shepherd speak to His lowly, dumb sheep named Joy Lucius distinctly: “Today is a day of resistance.”

I did not balk because I knew exactly what God was saying to me. I was going to have to stick close to my shepherd – and I understand immediately why I needed to recognize this as a day of resistance.

Let me explain!

This Monday would be my first day of holiday break without a busy schedule or lots of people to occupy my time and attention. My plan was to spend most of the day alone resting, since I had no Christmas shopping, gift-wrapping, holiday cooking, or party planning to do. And truthfully, I had been looking forward to this day of rest and relaxation for a while.

But upon waking, the Holy Spirit lovingly and unequivocally let me know that without Him, holiday grief would overwhelm my heart on this quiet day of rest.

So, there it was: Monday, December 22, 2025, had to be a day of resistance ... or else. And I had absolutely no desire to even touch my toes in the water of a day without Him to help me “resist the enemy” of my soul. I knew from experience that God’s plans for me were good, plans to prosper me in this day, but it would require my resistance when the tides of grief came flooding toward me.

Sure enough, the quiet stillness of our beautiful little farm home was quickly interrupted by thoughts of Christmases past, times when my husband and I would have been off for the week, and since our son Chris and his wife Leigh were educators, they would have also been starting their first official day of the 2025 Christmas holiday.

In years past, we would have probably shared a meal, gone shopping, hunting, or just had a short visit together. Whatever the case, Monday of Christmas break almost always involved Chris, Leigh, and their kids.

But as I rounded the corner from the bedroom that morning, the Christmas tree assaulted me with the realization that there would be no visit with Chris today or ever again, until Heaven is our home and we are reunited there.

But thanks to the Holy Spirit’s warning, I knew to resist that thought, and instead, verbally praise God for all those past Mondays of Christmas holidays with our son, and move on.

I also knew that for Christians, the best way to resist the enemy and ensure that he flees from our presence always involves the Word of God. That Word is “living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword,” and God’s Words are “life to those who find them, and health to all their flesh.” Plus, when His Word becomes the testimony of blood-bought believers, we literally can overcome the enemy.

So, one of my go-to verses of testimony at this point in my life involves the very unusual word “cleave:”

That thou mayest love the Lord thy God, and that thou mayest obey his voice, and that thou mayest cleave unto him: for he is thy life, and the length of thy days: that thou mayest dwell in the land which the Lord sware unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them (Deuteronomy 30:20, KJV).

I imagine that just about everyone would say that this is a much-desired and amazing promise of blessing. I agree, but it is not just the blessings of this passage that draw me. For weeks and weeks, I have been intrigued by the word “cleave,” found smackdab in the middle of this scriptural promise.

When this word first hit my heart, I did what I always do as a lifelong reader, learner, and teacher. I researched it extensively, and what I discovered both amazed me and embarrassed me.

Did you know that the word “cleave” is a contronym?

I am completely ashamed to admit it, but this old English teacher had no clue about the meaning of this literary term. It did soothe my ego a bit to know that, according to the International English Language Testing System (IELTS), the world’s leading English language proficiency test, there are only 75 recognized contronyms in our language.

As to the definition of this term. I learned that Merriam-Webster defines a contronym as “a word having two meanings that contradict each other.”

So, “cleave” has two totally contradictory meanings, both of which are used and referenced in the King James version of the Bible.

In one usage, “cleave” means to “split or sever,” while its contradictory meaning is “hold fast to.” So, basically, the mighty contronym of “cleave” will either mean to cut something off or hang on to it for dear life.

Now, let me tell you with all Christ-centered love and sincerity, after the past few weeks of studying and pondering this contronym, I have come to one profound and life-changing conclusion, and it involves no contradiction whatsoever.

In order to successfully resist the onslaught of grief during the holidays, or any day, for that matter – through the aid of His precious Holy Spirit, I have to take advantage of this unique contronym by cleaving and cutting off every single thought of grief that comes my way (via the life-giving Word of God), and then cleaving tightly to Jesus, my Savior and the lover of my soul.

And no matter what battle the enemy brings raging to your front door, I prayerfully recommend that you do the same. As the Holy Spirit so graciously warned me on Monday, today is the day of resistance; so, cleave and cleave.

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