Pressured, Pressed And Postponed
James 1:12 (Amplified Bible)
12Blessed (happy,to be envied) is the man who is patient under trial and stands up under temptation, for when he has stood the test and been approved, he will receive [the victor's] crown of life which God has promised to those who love Him.
My daughter is almost ready to take her road test. Every time we are ready to go somewhere she wants to get behind the wheel. I let her drive as often as I can, but there was a time when she was just beginning that I would not let her behind the wheel as often. She would get upset, because she was feeling the pressure to get her license and she was constantly pressing me about letting her drive, but I had to do what was best, so in certain instances I would postpone her lessons or restrict her ability to drive until I felt she was ready to tackle that particular driving task. Now that she is about a month away the pressure has shifted from driving to getting a car. The press is on, but that is another thing that will probably be delayed until her 18th birthday (we will see).
How often do we get to a place in life where we feel like we are under pressure to progress or make something happen, but things seem to constantly be postponed? It can be one of the most frustrating times in life. We can pray and believe God, knowing that we are endeavoring to get it right with Him first and things still are delayed or denied. We find our minds reeling and our thoughts turning our stomachs every which way, because things are not how we imagined and are not turning out the way we think they should at the time. But did we ever stop to think that God’s timing is not our timing, and His ways are not our ways. God may have us in a holding pattern for a reason; it may be because He needs for us to truly understand the source of our strength and who really has to be in control.
Often we look at how well we do things, and how it appears that we are a natural at things, but God is wanting us to understand that He gave us those abilities to steward for His Glory, not our own, and if we are still singing Frank Sinatra (My Way) God will continue to let us stew in our season of preparation and He will make us wait until we can see the true order of things. It is His will, before our own, His way not ours. When we come to understand the pressure is to get us to stand and rely upon Him we come into His will that much quicker and easier. We are able to press in and persevere, even when we are pressed, pressured and postponed.
Realize we are not forgotten, we are just in the state of preparation and processing, in order for us to get to a place of being able to handle what God is going to do in our lives. God wants us to humbly accept His will so that we can go from postponed into purpose, from pressured into permitted, from pressed to promoted. Don’t despise the delay; know that in this time God is working in us to get out what is good and acceptable in His sight. How do we get the most precious element out of an Olive we press it and apply pressure, just as God allows to be done to us, so that He can gain the most precious elements from us.
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