Utilizing Pressure for Good
“Consider it a sheer gift, friends, when tests and challenges come at you from all sides. You know that under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colors. So don’t try to get out of anything prematurely. Let it do its work so you become mature and well-developed, not deficient in any way.” James 1 2-4 MSG
A few months ago, I invested in an Instant Pot. Now let me tell you - I am no culinary genius, but my sister sold me on the idea of a pot that you can throw everything in and hopefully something edible comes out. The Instant Pot works by using pressure: It builds up internal pressure until it’s intense enough to turn what was tough into something tender. Once that process is over, you have to slowly release the pressure valve until the lid can be removed.
Often in life, pressure can become the way we learn some of the most valuable lessons. The pressure to meet a deadline creates in us a lower tolerance for all the things that have been wasting our time. The pressure of expectation will often make us face long-standing frustration. Pressure can reveal things that were simmering beneath the surface as the temperature change means hidden issues begin manifesting.
So, I want to encourage you today if you are feeling under pressure, learn to first accept that pressure is part of the process of growth. Learn how to use it to grow and mature rather than allow it to intimidate you, or be something you ignore. Just like my Instant Pot, we all need to watch the pressure valve in our life and learn how to release pressure in a way that doesn’t blow out or blow up.
This month let pressure make what was tough, tender, and use the pressure to make something in your world better.