Mrs Vicky Mutchler
Pastor's Wife
Grandview Baptist Church
Beavercreek, OR
Pressure Cooker!
Remember the pressure cooker? AKA Instant Pot!
Perhaps you still use one today. I remember my mom using one to cook pinto beans or boil potatoes of course because it would cook things faster. I remember her telling a story of when she was a child and her dad had decided to cook something in the pressure cooker. He could not find the little valve that sits on the top to regulate the pressure so he decided once it got started he would just stick a pencil in there! Of course you know where the story is headed… Once the pressure built up and the valve was not on there to regulate that PRESSURE ....the top blew off and food was all over the ceiling!
Dear pastors' wife...ever feel like you are living in a pressure cooker? We all know what the stresses of daily life can be like. Many today are finding themselves under stress ,and pressures they never thought they would encounter. Financial relationship, job, health & emotional stresses- one stress piles upon another. Add in your church ministries and yes, people... lots of them! The tensions of life may lead to breakdowns, a lack of peace, and a multitude of health problems.
Maybe you are in a battle for your health today. Or maybe you’re feeling the pressure of not getting anywhere in your life. You wonder why you aren’t at a different level of life… why you don’t seem to have any sense of direction… Whatever it is,feeling the pressure of life is something everyone has in common. But we cannot really avoid all the pressures – no matter how carefully we plan our day, unexpected things happen. Pressure is another word for stress, and what pressure does is squeeze out what’s inside .. like lumps of coal thrive under pressure to become precious . We need some pressure (not too much) to keep us going in life, to reach our potential, and to stop us from becoming stale. It is a refining....looking for the diamond!
Philippians 4:6 “ Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God." God wants us to bring every pressure or stress to Him in prayer. He will meet me at my level of understanding of what is happening, and gradually take me into a deeper relationship with Himself. And the more I release to Him, the more inner peace I experience.
Don’t forget that God will often give us people who can help – those special friends who can show us how to cope with support,a bit of laughter, someone to listen with their hearts ..big shoulders: those who genuinely care. We all need these kind of people.
Talking about this puts PRESSURE out there so we can see the problem and put it in perspective.. And then, slowly....we can start to manage our pressures. The reality is we must control the pressures, or they will control us.
I’m reminded of what Paul said in 2 Corinthians 4:8: " We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed…” Talk about pressure!
Our loving God, has a personal concern for you,and He alone has the power and love to manage our life. He is ENOUGH! He is in control!
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