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Return to BlogOctober 22 - Press on
October 22 – Press on
“So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing” – James1:4
Stalegmites go up, stalegtites come down. By the same reckoning, we expect waterfalls to flow down, not up. Yet, last week, I was watching the early morning weather forecast update on TV when they showed the most incredible sight, on the Isle of Skye in Scotland. A waterfall was being blown into reverse flow by the high winds of Storm Callum on the Isle of Skye, (above). This picture was captured by a local man on his telephone during an early morning walk.
If pressure can 'bend' a cascade such as the power of that waterfall, why are we surprised at the effect life and lifestyle, pressure can place upon us? We may think that life should be a bed of roses, but if that’s our take on life, we’re in for a big surprise—trouble happens! The issue is not if we will face trials, it’s how we will respond to the inevitable pressure that the problems of life bring.
Joseph and Job, are both examples of life under extreme pressure – lives that were allowed by God to hit rock bottom, only to rise, triumphantly, to receive the promises God had waiting for them.
Read the whole book of Exodus and there you will see how Moses had identity problems as a result of pressure in his life. How he needed some anger management classes, started his political career with the wrong foot (by killing his adversary) then ran away to hide from everyone including God. Yet, there was certainly a specific calling waiting for Moses.
So, when I read about Peter, seemingly being a dumb, rude, stupid, uneducated man, and how Jesus suddenly changed him into a smart preacher, I think this perception is far from the truth. Yes, he denied Jesus, which was one of his biggest failures. Yes, he was a little foul mouthed in his denial. He was also a hypocrite, as Paul called him later, but, Jesus didn’t choose a guy using some sort of "Eeny, meeny, miny, moe" game, or, by spinning the wheel of some heavenly roulette table. He knew Peter very well and because He knew him, He chose him.
God knows us too. We may have a few failures in our records, but we can learn from Joseph, Job, Moses, Gideon and Peter that despite weakness and failure, we can be used mightily by our all-powerful God, because He knows us and He is willing to discuss and debate with us his plans and his reasons for calling us.
When the storms of life press down on us, when the pressure gets too intense, don't let us be blown off course and start looking for ways to bail out from under the thumb of circumstances that seem too much to handle, or let our attitudes have free rein - feeling angry, bitter, or even mad at God—or anyone else we can blame our problems on. Let us keep our prayer lines open, hanging in there, assured that God is on our side.
Thankfully, James offers some great advice to us about why it’s so important to stay under the pressure. He reminds us that God has a purpose in mind when He allows trials to press down on us. Like turning coals into diamonds, some things only happen under a lot of pressure. Staying under the pressure is how God tests our faith in order to make us “mature and complete” (James 1:4)..
So, let us embrace the process and permit God to do His work of making us more mature and usable, for our good and His glory. Believe me—the pain will be worth the gain!
Acknowledgements BeliefNet (Cornerstone)
Music today is "Thank God for the Promise of Spring", sung by Cynthia Clawson.
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