Are You in the Pressure Cooker?

The River Church

I can’t remember the last time so many of my loved ones were going through as much pressure from distressed circumstances as they are now.  I am feeling it, too.  And for most of us, it is through no fault of our own.  Perhaps you are feeling the weight of difficulties as well, and if you are not, be assured that at some point you will. 

I have good news: God will not allow more pressure to be applied to you than you are able to withstand.  There is a principle laid out in 1 Corinthians 10:13: “No temptation has overtaken you other than what is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above what you are able to handle.  He will, with the temptation, also make a way to escape, so that you may be able to bear it.”  It is true not only of temptation, but of any pressures that come our way. 

The trick is understanding God’s absolute commitment to not let us go under, trusting Him with ourselves, and refusing to collapse beneath the weight of circumstances when we don’t have to.  We don’t have to.  Sometimes we think we have had all we can take, and we crumble – not because we have to, but because, in our weariness, we let ourselves. The key is to lock eyes with Jesus, watch expectantly for His next move, and then press forward, putting one foot in front of the other with Him. 

The Christian life-race is not a sprint.  It is a marathon.  God is looking for long-haul runners who will endure to the end and obtain the prize.  He doesn’t expect us to do it alone, though.  He’s there at our elbow, raising us up if we stumble, picking us up from the dirt if we fall flat on our face, but always cheering us on: “You can do it.  It’s not too hard for you.  I have made a way for you, and I will take care of you.” 

He said it in His Word this way: “… Fear not, for I have redeemed you.  I have called you by your name; you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you,; and through the rivers they will not overflow you.  When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned … because you [are] precious in my sight …”  (Isaiah 43:1-4). 

Keep pressing through.  You will make it.

The River Church