Do you have pressures in your life today?  Does the world seem to be crashing in on you?  In the Christian life, we are guaranteed to experience pressures. The 1828 Webster dictionary defines pressure as the state of being squeezed or crushed.  That is ever so true for each and every one of us as we walk in the Christian life.  Many people preach and teach that when a person comes to Christ, it is “a good life.” This means it is a life filled with few difficulties, little distress and very little pain, suffering or grief.  As a result, whenever there is an encounter with anything painful or any degree of pressure, a cry goes out to God for Him to remove that pressure.  How sad that is! We see from the Old Testament believers and New Testament saints, that when the trials and tribulations were faced, great power came upon them!  The word power means a force that is with someone. We know this force is the power of the Holy Spirit of God – the power of Christ in us and through us.  If we want to experience the power, we have to accept the pressure.  The pressure is what leads to the power.

I find this truth so necessary to teach to those who work in RU programs. As students get saved and begin to develop spiritually, many of them not only bring baggage into their new walk with Christ, but they also begin to experience new pressures as the result of being “in Christ”.   I have noticed that many people want the power of Christ to rest upon them so that they can deal with these pressures. But my friend, I believe that it is noteworthy to see in the Bible that the pressure comes before the power. That is a spiritual law in God’s Word.   There is no need for the power if there is no pressure.  Therefore, God allows that pressure to come into our lives.  For a Christian to know what true spiritual power is, he first needs to know what pressure is.  Pressure was always with those in the Old and New Testament.  They were daily pressed and heavily burdened. Yet it was precisely because they were weighed down exceedingly, that there was no one who had such power as they.  For the pressure caused them to look only to God.

Looking back at my own life, I have seen that it was during the times of extreme amounts of pressure, the power of God rested upon my life.  It is important to understand that pressure always comes before power.  Unfortunately, we are inclined to reverse the order.  Why?  It is in our nature, “the old man,” to reverse the order.  We want power for dealing with pressure, but God’s way is not man’s way.  It is higher.  He only grants power proportionately to the pressure we accept as we look toward Him.  God would have us learn the lessons.  Whenever we are encountering new pressure, we should convert it into new power.  If we do this, our ability to wield spiritual power grows with each and every new encounter of pressure.

There are many kinds of pressures to deal with.  Pressures come from our sin, our needs, our circumstances, our emotions; our sufferings, pain and grief; But no matter what the reason for the pressure or which direction it comes from, we have to remember all pressure comes with a purpose.  That purpose is for you to experience the power of the resurrection of Jesus Christ.  Paul spoke of it when he said “that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection…” (Philippians 3:10) Unfortunately, no one wants to read the last part of the verse: “…and the fellowship of His sufferings, being made conformable unto His death”.   It is through the fellowship of His suffering that we experience this great power.

Do not ignore, abhor, or push away the pressures….remember, pressures precede His Power!

Have a wonderful day IN the Lord!
Benjamin R. Burks

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Good Morning! Thank you for stopping to read what God has given me to share with you. I hope that it will be as much of a help to you as it has been for me. While it is a wonderful thing to have the technology we have today, I think we all (myself included!) can use the following reminders…

I am beginning to see that there’s just no substitute for face-to-face time with people you love or are trying to disciple. The other day I found myself instant messaging another staff person who was in the adjacent room to my office! I began to realize just how much I use my computer to converse with those closest to me. I couldn’t believe that I had taken this plunge into technology – which could very easily get me what I wanted, but lose what I have! That day, my morning devotions began with “For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.” (1 Cor. 13:12).Face-to-face contact is priceless.

Voice mail, e-mail, and blogging may cause us to think that we are connecting with one another, but these tools are misleading. When this type of communication becomes the “norm”, they can make us “a mile wide and an inch deep”. Recently, I spoke with a friend and asked him for his email address. He was kind enough to give it to me, but then he added, “but could you use it sparingly? I would much rather hear your voice. It is your spirit that has always helped me, and I cannot hear that through an email or from text messages.” Those words stunned me! I realized that technology is out of touch with what people really need to be properly discipled and exhorted.

The apostle John wrote the following, “Having many things to write unto you, I would not write with paper and ink: but I trust to come unto you, and speak face to face, that our joy may be full.” (2 John 12).

It seems that Scriptures of long ago had words for us bloggers and e-mailers today! Technology can fool me into thinking I’ve “connected” with dozens of people only requiring a few seconds at my computer keyboard. Instant Messaging may make me efficient, but it doesn’t help anyone to become known more deeply, down where we yearn to be known. Tweets can be fun, fast, and simple, but they can never replace a face-to-face exchange. Though I see great promise in these types of communication for spreading the Good News, and I am confident that God will use it to bring many into His kingdom, I do fear that we could forget the impact of our undivided attention in face-to-face conversations with those God brings into our lives.

So what’s the remedy? It comes packaged in a commodity we hold most precious…time. Those to whom you mentor need your attention and loving care. Though technology gives us opportunities that we have never had in previous years, (such as the ability to blog!) let us not forget the impact of personal attention as John did when he wrote his letter. Let’s face it, John realized the stimulation of face-to-face exhortation!

Remember, do not forego the face-to-face for the fast pace – but rather, look at what God said in the first place!

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