Do You Feel Pressure?

“Life is a pressure cooker and whether your main serene or become stressed out depends on how you handle that pressure.” - Kevin Leman

Feeling pressure sucks! It doesn’t help that you can feel it physically and emotionally.  That active push, when you don’t want it, can be intimidating. Are you currently feeling it right now? Do you feel it in making a decision? Is it moving? Dating? A job? Choosing sides? Here’s a question for you. Do you ever feel it in your walk with God? The pressure to do the right thing or else God won’t forgive you or worse, no longer love you. Well let’s nip that in the bud right now. That will never happen. There’s nothing in this world that you could ever do or say that would make God turn his back on you. You are his precious child and nothing or no one can ever take you away from him.

“And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:38-39 NLT)

Now that we have straightened that out, let’s go back to pressure from this world. It starts from when we were kids. We can feel pressure from our parents, then pressure from our peers and it continues. Sometimes we start to feel pressure from ourselves. We act like a standard has been set and we need to obey that standard or else it won’t be good for us. So the question is why are we setting standards for ourselves? God already set those standards by creating the Ten Commandments and as long as we are following those Ten Commandments and learning more about Him, we should be good.

He has never intended for anything to be complicated for us. Following our hearts can make things complicated. God is never complicated. Our hearts drive us down the wrong path. Our emotions can have us jumping onto the wrong path, but the Bible will tell you simply openly and honestly, there is only one path.

“Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6 NLT)

Simple. He is the way. He didn’t give you a list of ways to choose from. He didn’t give you different directions to get to the way. There is one way and that is our sign on how God doesn’t want you to feel pressure when it comes to Him. He wants you of your free well to choose him. No pressure applied.

So if you feel stressed to go somewhere because you believe that is where you will meet your future husband, that doesn’t sound like the way God would work naturally. If you feel the pressure to stay in something that hurts you, that doesn’t sound like the way God would want you to feel His love. If you feel pressure to do something wrong in order to receive someone’s love, that doesn’t sound like His way,

“We know, dear brothers and sisters, that God loves you and has chosen you to be his own people.” (1 Thessalonians 1:4 NLT)

His love for you is whole and simple and pure. You are loved in an unimaginable way. So any pressure you are feeling to make sure that you don’t make the wrong choice and forever break the core of your world, something is wrong. Take a step back, say a prayer and give it to God. trust that He will give you the answer in a beautiful simple way. Because that’s what he wants for you. He wants the best for you and he wants to give it with love. 

The moment you make a decision and feel peace in your heart that is the moment you know you have made the right decision. That is the moment you know God is with you. Because he doesn’t come with pressure. He comes with peace, joy, and love. Anything else does not come from him.