Life has a lot of pressures in it. Pressure from home, from work, and even we can have pressure from church. We know what a pressure cooker is. It is cooking by pressure. Pots’ lids usually have holes on them so as for steam to escape. Vents are their, to release pressure. If you have a volcano, and there is a pressure vent, steam and lava can flow out, avoiding a major eruption. Without an escape valve, there is likely to be a great explosion in either the pot, the volcano, or within you. So how do we avoid a pressure situation? Can we avoid a pressure situation? Usually pressure situations and worry how to deal with them go hand in hand. There will always be problems, hence pressure situations- Mth 6: 34. Sometimes, we actually create our own pressure. How? We leave things to be done for the very last minute. Then there is pressure to either perform or produce something. But we create our own pressure, by not planning our lives/timetables better; and so we force ourselves into our own pressure situations that we created for ourselves. So, we cant blame anyone else. There are situations that happen to us, where we have no control over; eg something breaks down. It can either break down due to lack of care on our behalf, or it can break down, due to the fact something is worn out. Ex 16: 18-20, they worried. All their worry was about food. They gathered more than they should. They were stressed. And that night, they would have slept well, we have food. But the next morning, double stress. A-no food, its rotten; b- now there is a problem with God! Disobedience. Double trouble. John 14: 27 and 16:33- we know them so well; but we actually cannot find the peace we need, as we are in turmoil. Worried, stressed, explosive. And its really hard to tell some people..”chill”. Because to some people, “chill” simply means, be lazy, be irresponsible, be carefree, take nothing seriously. We must have stress and pressure, it is actually good for us. But we must also try to reduce the pressure we put on ourselves, to achieve and to do all things at the same time. Recently at a study someone suggested to back down, or back off, from certain responsibilities. For some, to let go of the reigns, is to hasten the disaster that may come. So, the pressure cooker is on. Pace oneself out. Plan ahead for issues and disasters. But when the unplanned does come, the heart and mind know it must. Now to cope with it.
MCC Admin
1 Iyyar 5783