HANDLING THE PRESSURES OF THE WORLD

Pressures, they seem to be everywhere. There is not a single day that goes by that some amount of pressure is applied to you. Maybe it is the pressure of being on time to work and making sure that the alarm is set correctly. That one is easy for me since we now have an Echo Dot beside the bed. We simply tell “Alexa” to set the alarm for the time we need up for the next morning. But, other pressures can’t be fixed as easily.

Pressures start early in life, even when we are still babies. Pressures to eat the right foods, pressures to learn to walk, and pressures to learn our ABC’s. These all seem easy now, but when we were going through them, they weren’t so easy. Pressures continued into our school years. Some learned the school lessons easily and others struggled. Some might have excelled in athletics while others only felt the pressure to try harder. Fitting into the right crowd and being accepted by our peers was a constant pressure later on in our high school years. Surely things would get better after we finally graduated.

Of course, things did not get easier, in fact, they probably got even harder. When I was in high school it was pretty much expected that you would get married and have children right away. The pressure to find a spouse was real and I am sure you have all been asked the questions, “When are you getting married?” or “When are you going to start a family?”

Raising a family isn’t any pressure at all. Lol! Trying to raise little adults that will go out into the world and be a blessing to society instead of a curse is easy. It is a piece of cake trying to keeping them away from the evils of the world all while juggling supper, meetings, activities, and all the wifely duties. There are never any pressures on keeping a marriage together, our husbands never feel neglected or abandoned, right?

And even after the children are raised we will still feel pressures about our health or the health of our parents. I have some friends who have recently lost their husbands and a child. I can not imagine the pressures that they are feeling at this time.

James 1:3-13

³ for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. ⁴ And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

⁵ If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. ⁶ But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind.⁷ For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord;⁸ he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.

⁹ Let the lowly brother boast in his exaltation, ¹⁰ and the rich in his humiliation, because like a flower of the grass^[a] he will pass away. ¹¹ For the sun rises with its scorching heat and withers the grass; its flower falls, and its beauty perishes. So also will the rich man fade away in the midst of his pursuits.

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. ¹³ Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one.

While it does not look like any of us will ever escape the pressures of this life we do have the words in Jeremiah to give us so relief.

Jeremiah 29:11

¹¹ For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

Have a Blessed Sunday!

By The Way, I would love to grow my Sunday posts so please feel free to share this post with others. I will be giving away the beautiful Tony Cross necklace from Plunder to someone who shared so please comment below that you shared.