What do you do under pressure?
No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.
1 Corinthians 10:13
In my early childhood, late summer brought a yearly ritual: canning season. Shelling purple hull peas, shucking corn, pressing tomatoes were the chores assigned to me and my brother. I remember my mother using a pressure cooker to preserve the fruits and vegetables we grew in our own garden. Mom would spend the hot summer days in a steamy kitchen putting the produce into glass jars, and then plunge them into boiling water in a pressure cooker. That pressure cooker was an essential tool to the work.
Have you ever been in “pressure-cooker” situations, dealing with nonstop stress or emotionally charged situations? God gave us a great brain to respond to acute periods of stress. But longer episodes of stress are actually destructive. Our viewpoint and decisions will determine how much stress and pressure we are exposed to and how we deal with it.
Everyone responds to stress differently.
Some people just walk away. Maybe you’re competent to accomplish a task fully, but instead, do just enough to make it work. Maybe you fall into making knee-jerk reactions, or you respond to what is urgent while avoiding what is important. It’s easy to go for the quick fix, relying on yourself, but forgetting to ask God for His guidance and wisdom. When we rely solely on ourselves, we have trouble thinking of God’s promises, character, or past provision — trouble remembering Bible passages that soothe, and trouble connecting to God’s love, peace, comfort and grace when we are under continual pressure or stress.
When you are under pressure at work, at home or on the street, just stop. Consider that you get to make a choice. You can call on God for help. This is exactly where we all need to be, “on our knees” in a position of dependence. He has promised that He will always be with us. He will never leave us or forsake us. Or — you can decide to let the pressure get to you — or to rely on the God who loves you. The alternative is to allow stress to overwhelm you. Whether you stop and rely on Him, or you rely on yourself instead is your decision.
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Editor’s note: The Rev. Dr. Scott Stewart is the pastor of Pea Ridge United Methodist Church and Brightwater Methodist Church. The opinions expressed are those of the writer. He can be contacted at revjstewart@gmail.com or 479-659-9519.