On Being Pressed: A look at 2 Corinthians 4:8-11

2 Corinthians 4:8-11

"We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed, perplexed but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down but not destroyed. Therefore we do not lose heart."

Pressed-flattened, shaped, or smoothed by application of pressure.

Pressing- of a problem, need, situation requiring quick or immediate action or attention

Pressure-continuous physical force exerted on or against an object by something in contact with it

2. persuasion, influence; intimidation to make someone do something

3 coerce

We are hard pressed not just any old force but HARD pressed meaning flattened, reshaped, or really needing attention; really coerced not or our own doing but influenced by another. Someone else's agenda

On every side we are surrounded by it

but not crushed-unbreakable

perplexed-baffled/confused/bewildered

but not in despair-absence of hope so we may be confused about something but we still hold on to our hope in Jesus.

persecuted-harassed persistently; shown hostility-ill will

but not abandoned-even in our pain we have a God who is there. Always there. We are never not with him.

Struck down- to hit someone hard to cause them to fall to the ground, ruined, defeated not

but not destroyed-unfixable, ruined, defeated not

Therefore we do not lose heart-never give up.

From a scientific standpoint, pressure is the application of force upon something that cannot withstand it. By cannot, I mean that this application of force will inevitably change the item that the force is being placed on. Even if the outward appearance of the item seems to show no reaction to the force, the inner most pieces will change. From a science perspective their is no hope for the pressure to not change or be detrimental

to the physical state of the things undergoing pressure. That's why placing our hope in the Father, Son, and Spirit gives us full strength to win against the pressures of this world. We can withstand pressures when our hope is in Jesus.

Sometimes though, pressure is what we need to develop into that new thing God wants us to be. Take the clay from the potter who has to use his hands to work through the substance that starts out as but a blob of nothingness. The potter begins to put pressure on it from all sorts of angles. This is to condition it and make it bendable, malleable, and workable in order to form and shape it into something functional in the sight of it's creator. This is us. We can be pressed, reshaped, and reformed to be better than we ever thought. Our creator has an infinite amount of creativity at his whim. You may believe since you have solidified in a certain way that our God can't rework you. Our God, who created the universe, can make you into what you never dreamed you could become.

Allow the pressure that is placed on your life to reshape and renew you. It may just be God's calling to give your life new meaning and to give you a new identity. It could even be taking you to the very thing you have prayed about. Sometimes pressure is God's answer to our prayers. We can't see what he's shaping in us, but trust that God is birthing something new.