Dealing Successfully With Life's Problems (August 2024)
Are you feeling pressure in your everyday life? On the job. . .in your finances. . .at home either in your role as a spouse or a parent?
You want to get ahead but sometimes the pressure is almost overbearing.
Peter Marshal, a former Chaplain of the United States Senate, once told the Lord:
“When we long for life without difficulties, remind us that oaks grow strong in contrary winds and diamonds are made under pressure.”
Perhaps, we need to catch a visual of ourselves becoming like the Hope diamond. . .the most famous of all precious stones.
There seems to be four main causes of pressure. . .whether generated externally or internally.
First, we get overloaded with more to do than the hours of the day will allow us to complete.
Second, we allow our emotions to create worry, anxiety and frustration. . .which drains us emotionally and physically as well.
Third, we begin to play worst case scenarios in our minds. . .imaging the worst things that could possible happen. . .if something is not completed or doesn’t happen.
Fourth, the enemy wants to change our spiritual and mental environment. . .to break our focus off what’s important to our heavenly calling.
Pressure can cause us to either fight or take flight from our current circumstances.
But in 1 Peter 4:12 in the Classic Amplified Bible we are warned that this is not uncommon: