Our Response to Pressure

​Our Response to Pressure (Read time ≈ 4 minutes)
James 1:12
Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him.
 
Life is full of pressure. Spiritual trials will have two effects on your life; make you or break you. Like many things in life, it is not about the circumstances you face, but HOW you faced them. You can be broken through “good times” just like bad times. The question is, do you have what it takes to endure the pressures of life. Pressure; it can burst pipes, or it can make diamonds. How will you respond to the pressures of life? Will you burst? Or will you be made into something good?
 
Proverbs 24:10 says, “If you faint in the day of adversity, your strength is small.”. Are you feeling weak? Are you feeling like bursting? Are you feeling like “your strength is small”? Are you wondering, how can I “remain steadfast under trial”? How do I go from wanting to burst to becoming steady and firm like a diamond under pressure? The answer is found in your response to the pressures of life. Where do you turn for the strength to withstand? In your time of distress, call upon the Lord (Psalm 118:5)! And He will set you free! Free from the expectations of doing it on your own, free from the stress of it all, free from the unbearable pressure. And through that, He instills confidence in His ability to carry you through. You begin to believe, with God on your side, what can man do? You have no fear of the pressure (Psalm 118:6).
 
“Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love Him”. God does not only promise the reward for remaining steadfast, but He also promises the provision of strength to remain steadfast when we call upon His name and trust in Him. You cannot remain steadfast under trial if you attempt to remain steadfast under trial under your own strength. You are not strong enough on your own, and that's the point! We are strengthened when we admit our weakness and look to Him for strength (2 Corinthians 12:9) and our strength is found in the Lord. You cannot withstand the pressure of this life without the strength of the Lord within you. So, each day, we seek HIS strength, and we withstand the pressure and become a precocious jewel unto the Lord.
 
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