The pressure packed life

Life is often like a pressure cooker. If you put tight schedules, time deadlines, interruptions, your own mistakes, and troubled relationships into a pot, put a lid on it and turn up the heat of daily life,  you will have your own personalized pressure cooker. 

Inside this pressure cooker God seems distant. You find yourself saying things like,“I know God loves me, but that doesn’t seem to help right now.” Pressure leads to a disconnect with the problems that others face, even in your own family. Pressure wrongly places the focus on circumstances.

Here are three promises from God that help put pressure into a biblical perspective:

First, God is committed to discipline you to be more and more like Christ. Hebrews 12:7 says that we are to endure hardship as discipline. Life’s circumstances are not random – they are opportunities to trust Christ.

Second, The hardships you endure are not always because you have done something wrong.  Don’t miss this! Jesus endured temptation and the world’s “pressure” specifically so that he could help you when you face temptation and pressure.  Christ endured his time on earth in order to bring glory to God— and to help you in your time of need. (Hebrews 2:17-18). 

Third, you have the power of Christ at your disposal. This power is not to cause the circumstances to change, but to cause you to change.  God is to be honored when pressure comes. This is what living for the glory of God is all about. 

Living for God’s honor does not mean you can wave a magic wand and change your circumstances. It does mean that you can honor God in every situation you face. Yes, pressure is real. But the power of Christ through his Spirit can help you overcome the pressures of life. The reality is that God is able to do immeasurably more than all you can ask or imagine; he can help you bring honor to his name in any circumstance. 

When your children or your spouse are in the pressure cooker, encourage them with these truths. Don’t simply tell them things will get better. That will only add more pressure to them and to you. Point them to God’s faithfulness. 

You may feel out of control, but your God is with you and he is in total control. The pressures of this life will remain. But your God is faithful. He will never leave you or forsake you, especially when the pressure is on.

 

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