One Sunday morning one of my
mentors delivered a sermon about – pressing.
More specifically, growing and pressing through pressure and the challenging ups
and downs in life. After she spoke, I hugged her and thanked her for what she
shared. It was a timely word. I don’t know if some people are blind to the fact
that no matter how blessed you are, being blessed is not the absence of
problems. And from experience, I submit that the more blessed you are, the more
pressure you have to deal with. It often comes with the territory of being
blessed. God has been very good to me, but honestly, I don’t enjoy the press of pressure. Because while pressure can help
build a great foundation and character, it can be painful, uncomfortable and
downright discouraging at times.
In T.D. Jakes, Can You Stand to be Blessed? He writes,
“To be honest being blessed is hard work. Everything God gives you requires
maintenance. God gave man The Garden, but the man still had to dress it. There
is a “down” side to every blessing. That is why Jesus said, “No man builds
without counting the cost” (see Luke 14:28-30). You must be willing to pay the
price to get the blessing.”
When I first read T.D. Jakes
book, I was amazed to learn that no matter how blessed you are, every blessing
God trusts you with will require work, sacrifices, pressure, and of course
maintenance to maintain. And like my mentor spoke in her powerful sermon, “It’s
in the press…” God often uses the process of pressing to develop us and to test if we can be trusted with what He
wants to bless us with. This is a test I’m still working on passing
successfully. I’ve already seen visions and received confirmation about many
things He’s going to do in my life, however, I’ve still got more pressing to do
(which is fine – any blessing given too soon could cause problems I don’t want
or need in my life.) So, in the meantime, I’m pressing. God knows what He’s
doing and I’m embracing the process. It’s in the press.