Under Pressure

 


I will give them the desire to acknowledge that I am the LORD. I will be their God, and they will be my people. For they will wholeheartedly return to me.’  Jeremiah 24:7

You know how when you were little adults would tease you that if you were bad Santa Claus would put coal in your stocking? Today I’m thinking a little extra about that coal. More specifically about the carbon that it is primarily composed of. Carbon, and coal, are boring, ordinary things. They, like us, are not very special or spectacular, until they are put under pressure.

You see, when you put carbon under pressure, it becomes graphite. Now graphite is something truly useful. We’ve all used it – it forms the center of every pencil everywhere. You can’t do math without it or take a test where you fill in those little bubbles! But let’s be real, once you graduate from high school, pencils loose much of their usefulness. I’ll pick one up now and again, or use one to help a kid with math, and I do use them when doing a logic puzzle, but most of the time I’m a pen gal. Good news for graphite though, God’s not done with it yet! Just put it under more pressure and…

BAM! Diamonds! You went from one of the most common things, carbon, to one of the most rare and precious things. It wasn’t pleasant or easy. It hurt. It was hard. But it was worth it! It can never be changed back or taken away. Diamonds are forever. The same is true for us. We start out like everyone else, pretty common. But the pressures of life, the challenges we face, they form us into something special. The harder the pressure, the more special the outcome. We wouldn’t choose the hard things we have to face in order to grow. In moments of wisdom and faith we entrust our lives to God and tell Him that whatever He has in store we trust Him, but if we were faced with a choice of doing the hard thing, we probably wouldn’t pick it, especially if we knew exactly how hard it would actually be. But then we would miss out on so much!

Here's the Thing: I’ve said time and again in my life that I’m glad I can’t tell the future. If I knew what was coming, I don’t think I’d have the courage to face it. But looking back in hindsight, I’m so glad I’ve been through what I have and come to the place I’m at. I wouldn’t trade it!

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