Is feeling pressure good or bad? In today's blog, I am going to be dealing with the importance of pressure in our lives. Sometimes, pressure is viewed only as a negative, and this is where people miss it. If you don't know what it is there for, you will only dwell on the negative, and it becomes stress. It's not rightly discerning the circumstances you are facing. So today, I'm going to illuminate some things found in the word of God that will help you to better see the value of pressure. It's how we perceive things that makes the difference. But, it's not only how we perceive things, it's also our understanding and application. You must have all of these synergistically working in order to live out an overcoming lifestyle. Let's go to the word of God and check into some situations where there was pressure. Remember, God has a prophetic process for each of us to undergo, so when we are challenged, it's how we respond to the challenge that matters. When God's directive to Moses was to lead the Israelites out of Egypt, do you think Moses was under any pressure? While Moses was being obedient to what God had spoken to him, do you think this put any pressure on those he was leading out? The Israelites began to question Moses’ position and authority as a direct result of the pressure. The flesh wars against the spirit, and the sooner we let ourselves be led of the Spirit of God, the better off we are going to be. Now, the Israelites in the Old Testament didn't rightly discern the journey to the promise land. They only saw the negative, thought the negative, and spoke the negative. Consequently, they wandered in the desert for forty years and never came into their inheritance. They left out the understanding of what was going on, and the application of the word of God into their lives to be in agreement with God. They never saw the positive of God's word, only the negative, because they chose to be led by the flesh. Now you see, if they would have had understanding and application of the following verse, the outcome would have been different. These words were spoken before in scripture, but let's look at God's directive to Joshua in Joshua 1:8. I like this version found in the Holman Christian Standard Bible. “This book of instruction must not depart from your mouth; you are to recite it day and night so that you may carefully observe everything written in it. For then you will prosper and succeed in whatever you do.” Jesus on the other hand, went into the wilderness of the desert led of the Spirit, followed the directives of God and understood the challenge. Consequently, he only spent forty days, not forty years, and came into the fullness of his ministry and inheritance and is now seated at the right hand of the Father. What is the take away I want you to see in this? God did not masterfully design the challenges in our lives to give us stress that will send us to an early grave. So, why do we get stressed so easily and become so ill as a result? It's because we don’t understand that these negative challenges are there to build us up and not to injure us or make us ill. Hopefully, this blog will help shed light on this scripture for you as well. It's found in I Peter 4:12 in the New Living Translation. “Dear friends, don't be surprised at the fiery trials you are going through, as if something strange were happening to you.” When you go into the gym to work out, you understand that resistance exercise includes both the negative and the positive forces. You take on the challenge by doing sets and reps with this negative and positive motion of the weights, understanding it will build and strengthen your muscles. You perceive it as a good thing and a great opportunity to develop your physical body. You need to perceive life's challenges the same way. Life is your spiritual workout room. The negative forces we encounter each day are there to build you up, but only if you apply the positive force immediately. The positive force is the promises of God that fits the current situation. This is why Jesus spoke immediately the written word of God to go against the negative that satan was challenging Him with. So many believers have never seen it this way before, but when I illuminated the scriptures to them concerning this matter, their eyes were opened to the truth, and they understood how to respond correctly. Now they are building spiritual muscles on a daily basis by repping the promises of God, just as they do in the gym, and they are living an overcoming lifestyle. You see, pressure is a good thing because it stimulates new growth. The more you develop your spiritual muscles, the more resistance you will be able to handle. God is ready to pump you up. All you have to do is start exercising. If you have a current situation and need help with a verse to combat the negative, please leave a comment. We will respond with a verse. Not only will you be helping yourself, but others that are struggling with the same issue. |
