When the Body Stops Listening

In the early 1920s, Dr. Frederick Banting and Charles Best discovered insulin at the University of Toronto — a breakthrough that transformed diabetes from a death sentence into a manageable condition. But here is what fascinates me about Type 2 diabetes: the pancreas often still produces insulin. The problem is not supply. The problem is that the body's cells stop responding to it.

Doctors call this insulin resistance. The cells become deaf to the hormone's signal. Glucose keeps circulating in the bloodstream, damaging blood vessels, nerves, and organs — not because the body lacks what it needs, but because it refuses to receive it. The instruction is there. The cells simply will not obey.

I wonder how often we mirror that same resistance in our spiritual lives. God speaks. His Word is clear. His Spirit nudges. The instruction arrives at the doorstep of our hearts — and we do not open the door. We are not lacking revelation. We are lacking response.

Obedience is not about God shouting louder. He has already spoken through Scripture, through the life of Christ, through the quiet counsel of the Holy Spirit. The question is whether we will receive what He sends.

Just as insulin resistance slowly damages every system in the body, spiritual resistance — that slow, habitual refusal to respond — quietly erodes the vitality of our faith.

The remedy is the same in both cases: restored sensitivity. A willingness to listen, and then to act on what we hear.