When we used to live in Upstate New York, our church would sometimes get together for a cider-making social. One of the members had a cider press and everyone would bring apples and throw them into the press. The children would take turns turning the crank, pushing the press down into the apples. Within moments, some of the sweetest cider I’d ever tasted would come pouring out of the spout at the bottom.
Sometimes I feel like I’m in a cider press, “pressed on every side by troubles.” I think we all feel this way sometimes. Financial pressures, relationship problems, career difficulties, health setbacks – for each of us the challenges are different. Whatever it is we face, we can feel that crank turning, the pressure building, till we are sure we will be crushed under the weight of our problems.
It is at that moment we must remember “…that our great power is from God, not from ourselves.” 2 Corinthians 4:7. On our own we cannot stand, but if we trust in God and lean on Him, when we “…are pressed on every side by troubles, we are not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair.” 2 Corinthians 4:8, 9.
I love this quote from the book, The Faith I Live By, p. 64:
“God never leads His children otherwise than they would choose to be led, if they could see the end from the beginning and discern the glory of the purpose which they are fulfilling as co-workers with Him.
We may not always understand why God lets troubles come our way, but we can rest assured He only has our best interest in mind.
The Apostle James understood this. He wrote, “Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.” James 1:2-4.
We may not enjoy the pressures life brings our way, but remember, “…our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever!” 2 Corinthians 4:17.
Today, let’s not “look at the troubles we can see now…” Instead, let us “fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.” 2 Corinthians 4:18.
Apples cannot produce sweet cider until they are pressed. Likewise, the pressures we face each day help us grow in faith, so that someday soon “…we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up.” Galatians 6:9.
So, bring the pressure on! I may not enjoy it now, but in the end I know it will be worth it all!
God bless and have an awesome day!