Pressed & Stressed?

The following blog is from Darren Bosch of DeliberateU.  

While the onset of a new year often brings a hopeful fresh start, 2021 feels different for many of us. Last year was just plain hard, and with more COVID restrictions and implications, it seems like not much has changed. In summarizing 2020, The Washington Post asked their readers to describe 2020 in one word. The most common responses included words like: 

Exhausting. Lost. Chaotic. Surreal. Relentless.

Our world seems in a collective state of upheaval and weariness. As one said, “2020 was like looking both ways before crossing the street and then getting hit by a submarine.” Another added, “I feel trapped in a corner, and all I can do is try to block the next thing that gets thrown at me.” I heard one have a 2021 resolution as, “I’m just hoping to finally exhale.” 

So how do we move forward? What can we anticipate from the unknowns of 2021? I met with a pressed business leader this week who was grappling with the gravity of these realities. His only question was…

How much more are we going to have to endure, and what’s coming our way next? For how much longer? On the surface, it seems we have no concrete assurances to hold onto. Then enters God. I’m reminded of His faithfulness throughout history, for our fore-parents, and you and I, right here, right now.

As I think about the stories of our clients and the many others I know who are feeling significant press and stress, my mind moves to Paul’s words in 2 Corinthians 4:7-10 NLT.

“We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure.
This makes it clear that our great power is from God, not from ourselves.
We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed.
We are perplexed, but not driven to despair. 
We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God.
We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed. 
Through suffering, our bodies continue to share in the death of Jesus so that the life of Jesus may also be seen in our bodies.”

Biblical Declaration for the pressed Christian Leader:

Here are 9 declarations to help you apply this year:

1. Trust the truth that the light of Christ is shining in your heart.
2. Confess your human fragility, you can’t do it alone.
3. Embrace this light and treasure with gratitude.
4. Acknowledge Jesus as the source of the power, not you.
5. Own your feelings of being pressed on every side while trusting that you are not crushed.
6. Express the reality of being perplexed, yet declare no despair.
7. While you may feel “hunted down”, embrace the truth that He has not abandoned you. 
8. When you get knocked down yet again, declare that in Christ, you are not destroyed.
9. In your suffering, claim to share in the death of Jesus. Declare your desire for God to be seen in you through endurance.

Application:

Reflect on the verses in 2 Corinthians 4:7-10 NLT

1. What’s your response as you read these and your 9 Declarations? Nothing, anger, rebellion, relief, gratitude & comfort?
2. What are you sensing God asking of you as you lead yourself and others while feeling squeezed?