FS Miracle Monday
Miki Maynard
April 12, 2021
Finding Life Under Pressure
There has been a lot of pressure on people for many months. We can look back on history and find that people have experienced all kinds of hardships for years all over the world. It is really nothing new, although it may be different.
When the pressure is on, sometimes I find things wanting to come out of me that I don’t like. How can I be a Christian and have this sort of struggle? Then there are times when I feel like I am doing everything I can and responding with Christ-likeness and the pressure just gets worse.
I Feel Like I’m Running Into Nothing But Walls
When under pressure, there have been times when I feel like I run into walls everywhere I turn and I have nowhere to go. This verse tells me that there is something I can do and that I do have a place I can go.
2 Corinthians 4:8-9 says:
“We often feel completely hemmed in on every side, but our inner space remains unrestricted; when there seems to be no way out, we escape within.”
2 Corinthians 4:10-12 shows me how I can find help by looking within:
“Wherever we go, whatever we encounter in our bodies, we bear witness within us of the fact that Jesus died our death; in the same body, we now exhibit His life. The fact that we co-died in his death confirms that we now co-live in His resurrection!”
“Our day-to-day experience continues to exhibit that even in the face of death, our association with the death Jesus already died remains the inspiration of His life made so clearly visible within us. This is in such contrast to the circumstances that we are often faced with. Our persuasion of our co-crucifixion with Christ in the face of death threatening circumstances inspires life in you.”
The word “inspires” here translates as “energy trigger” from the word energeo in the Greek.
I have learned that when I pause in the moment, or take some time before responding when faced with a difficulty, I can avoid getting myself into a predicament. Even though I have made mistakes in the past, I can do this when I depend upon the Lord.
I think about what I want to do. So I pray and ask for the Spirit’s help. I make the choice to respond with the life that Christ has given to me. Then it energizes me, because I am allowing it to happen. I have to yield. I have to die to the old ungodly ways so the new godly ways can work their way out from inside of me. (Photos via Unsplash)
Is God Squeezing the Crud Out of Me When I’m Under Pressure?
The pressure can be very uncomfortable because I’m having to deal with unpleasant things. This is really what it feels like sometimes…can I say it like this? “He is squeezing the crud out of me?” That’s not quite it…actually. I guess what I feel like is, the “crud” is a dead end. There is no place for it anymore. What is really happening is, His life is wanting to come out of me when I’m in the pressure. That is what is supposed to happen.
This is what co-living with Christ means. The old way is simply dead, ended, and gone. It’s been killed in Christ’s death that He has done on my behalf. Now, the new way is energized. So I carry the understanding that the old ways are dead in order for the new ways of life to spring forth.
Here is a diagram for a visual of the miracle of experiencing pressure in a life with Christ:
When I feel pressure in life, I lean into the One who is always with me. He energizes the ability to allow the formation of His will inside of me, and then it flows out from me. He has made a difficult and uncomfortable pressure in my life… a powerful and life-giving pressure in my life.
