Living Under Great Pressure

Be honest. Do you find yourself at a place in your life right now in which you are living under great pressure—with no relief in sight? The Apostle Paul would understand what you are feeling. Listen to his words about a particularly difficult time in his life—

“We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about the hardships we suffered…We were under great pressure far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired even of life. Indeed, in our hearts we felt the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raised the dead. He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and He will deliver us. On Him we have set our hope that He will continue to deliver us.” (2 Corinthians 1:8-10).

When we face such a time as this, it is best to consider what our faith can mean to us and how it may help us. A.B. Simpson wrote,  â€œNothing but the great trials and dangers we have experienced would ever have led some of us to know Him as we do, trust Him as we have, and draw from Him (as we must). Difficulties and obstacles are God’s way of challenging our faith. As we move forward in faith, simply and fully trusting Him, we may continue to be tested. Sometimes we may have to wait and realize that ‘perseverance must finish its work’ (James 1:4). But ultimately we will surely find ‘the stone rolled away’ (Luke 24:2) and the Lord Himself waiting to bestow a double blessing on us for our time of testing.”

What this means today for you is this: A time of intense testing calls for a time of immense trusting! Since you can know that one day you will see the reward of your faith, you must be careful to remain steady in the exercise of your faith. Learn to live with that certainty even in your times of uncertainty. Yes, believe me when I say this, you can be confident in the outcome of your faith. Further you can be sure that “In all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us (and continues to love us)” (Romans 8:37).

Therefore, if you are presently suffering huge hardships and living under great pressures—then remember that this calls for Deep Trusting and Keep Trusting!

Devotedly yours,
Pastor Ron