Pressure Points
Pressure. It is one of the great forces in creation. At the macro and micro level, pressure is happening all around us. Liquids, gases and solids always want to move from areas where the pressure is high to areas where it is lower. Ice is undefeated in its ability to move mountains, carve out landscapes and bully whatever is in its path. Water pressure in the depths of the ocean makes it impossible for mammal life as lungs would implode under the sheer force of the watery abyss. We feel it in a crowded elevator, or in a stadium full of people heading for the exits. We all want naturally to be in places of relatively low pressure.
Psychologically, when stress mounts we can feel a mental pressure. Our bodies respond to the mental pressure as well and we can feel short of breath, our heart might race and sweat can build in our hands. These pressure-filled places in life, I believe, are a gracious design from the Father to work his refining grace into our lives.
In reading through Isaiah over the past weeks, I found a treasure in Isaiah 48:10-11:
See, I have refined you, though not as silver;
I have tested you in the furnace of affliction.
For my own sake, for my own sake, I do this.
How can I let myself be defamed?
I will not yield my glory to another.
What happens when we feel pressure building up in life is we generally turn to some tried and true coping mechanisms. We learn over time through the example of others and through our own intuition how we can relieve the pressure. All too often we find coping methods that do more harm than good. They can serve as temporary escapes from stress but produce a deeper enslavement to sin. Binge-watching shows, sports, shopping for more of what we don’t need, and even the more widely damaging escapes of pornography, sexual promiscuity, and substances. But what does God intend for us when we feel the pressure of life’s demands mounting?
There is an endurance that can only be found in affliction, suffering and pressure. There is a steadfastness that God alone can produce in us. This is his intention when he designs our life to take us through periods of great pressure. For the people of Israel, that meant 70 years of exile in Babylon. God fashioned a time of exile as a “furnace of affliction” for his chosen people, his special possession. Wait a minute, you might be thinking, did he say God designs affliction for his people? That doesn’t sound like a loving and good God to me… To that I ask, is it better for us, as God’s people, to know the deep sustaining and soul-satisfying love of God in our affliction, or is it better for us to never experience this love at all?
A friend of mine recently came back from a 90-day recovery program. For years I had seen his struggle with addiction wreak havoc on his relationships and on his own health. But having seen him come back from the program, he is a transformed person. God has done a refining in him that is amazing to behold. I know he would say he is tasting the goodness of God in ways he hasn’t experienced in years. There is freedom from chains that had held him for a long time. God had fashioned a furnace of affliction in order to produce something beautiful. There are three great truths from Isaiah 48:10-11:
- God has mined you like a precious metal. He has chosen you. You cannot outdo the tremendous grace of God in choosing for himself a people to call his own.
- God does not waste any pressure in your life. The fires of affliction he allows to touch you are fashioned to further his plans in your life.
- God has pledged himself to you through faith in Christ. God’s name is on the line in you and he will not let another share in the glory of your refinement.
The next time you feel the pressure of life mounting, do not take the bait of temporary escapes that cannot save. Instead, invite the refining fire of the Lord’s furnace of affliction to fashion you for his glory. In the furnace, you will find a loving God who is strong, stable, and able to make you endure. He will not let you go and he will have the glory in your steadfastness. His glory will be your peace and you will rest in Him. That’s a love that’s worth it.