The pressures of life can cause us to feel overwhelmed from the constant demands that come our way. Maybe you are feeling pressure from your job and the stress that is attached with your duties. Maybe the pressure of a major decision is driving you to agony as you are imagining the consequences it will bring. Maybe you are feeling the societal pressures of inadequacy within this world. Maybe you are experiencing the pressure of times and seasons; you are feeling the weight of the stillness around you. Maybe the pressure to get back up again after adversity is becoming a burden to your reality. As we endure the pressures of this world, it is easy to give in and accept what is. God will never let the pressure happen without reason. There is purpose in the pressure you are feeling in this season.
Pressure can either cause a refinement within our lives or can cause us to abandon the process. Pressure is a process that God wants to walk you through. It can be hard to find the joy in your heart from the insistence and pressures being placed in your path. Ultimately, without the push, you would have stayed in that position of fear. Without the strain, you would not have invited Jesus into that problem. Without the pressure, you would not have met the perseverance you needed to survive. God refines us through the fire. We become polished and pruned in the pressure points of our seasons. In your pressure, God is purifying you through the stress. The pressure working for you, though uncomfortable—there is a plan in the pressure. The overstretch you are feeling will prompt you to seek out the wisdom of God.
Job 28:25-27 says: “When He gave weight and pressure to the wind and allotted the waters by measure, when He made a limit for the rain and a way for the thunderbolt, then He saw wisdom and declared it; He established it and searched it out.” The pressures of our lives are being watched after by God. He sees the weight of the situation at hand; yet, He will only allow or restrain what is meant for your purpose. He added the weight to the winds for the very purpose of the winds. The pressure and weight was established for you in this season. You may be feeling tested and tried under every circumstance. You may be feeling exhausted with the weight of everything happening to you. If God established the winds by a certain measure or pressure, we can be certain that He will do the same thing with us. Jesus cares about the pressures that you are facing. The direction of the pressure is in the Hands of God. He is preparing you within the pressure. Just like the winds were given direction and preparation by God, this season of pressure is producing the evidence and manifestation of His promises over your life. Do not let the pressures define you, but rather refine you.
“No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and He will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation He will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.” -1 Corinthians 10:13
“Trouble and distress have come upon me, but Your commands give me delight.” -Psalm 119:143
“When anxiety was great within me, Your consolation brought me joy.” -Psalm 94:19
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