(3, Add your vote!)
Loading ...
Things are a little crazy for the CVC team right now! We are so excited for LifeServe next week…but wow are there a lot of details! It’s easy to get overwhelmed and let the pressure get the best of me. I was reminded of this verse this week…and this post from a few months back. It’s even more relevant today, I think. I hope it will encourage you if you are “under” a lot of pressure right now…
“Moreover [let us also be full of joy now!] let us exult and triumph in our troubles and rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that pressure and affliction and hardship produce patient and unswerving endurance. And endurance (fortitude) develops maturity of character (approved faith and tried integrity).” (Romans 5:3-4 AMP)
Pressure often blows into our lives and catches us unaware. It can disrupt our routines, stir up insecurities, and make us question the call of God on our lives. Yet, these verses tell us that pressure is the very thing God uses to accomplish something greater in (and through) us!
- Sometimes pressure comes as we move into a greater area of ministry, leadership, or responsibility.
- Sometimes it’s part of a transition into new things: a new job, new church, or even a new paradigm.
- Sometimes it’s the result of a spiritual or personal attack of some sort.
- Often pressure can build simply because we are advancing in our gifts and influence.
Pressure can be uncomfortable, intense, and scary. It may be caused by a transition, a new challenge, or even a new paradigm. Ultimately, it is a great opportunity for personal and professional growth, deepened spiritual experiences, and can help us develop the ability to encourage others after the wind dies down.
I encourage you today, if you are facing intense pressure, welcome the wind as a tool for your own growth. Refuse to retreat and instead, lean into the wind and discover what God wants to do in your life and ministry as a result.
**How about you? Are you facing areas of pressure or change? Has the bar or responsibility or expectation been raised to what feels like an impossible level?
RSS FeedAdd Your Comments
Stay in touch with the conversation, subscribe to the RSS feed for comments on this post.
Thank you for this timely article. I’m leaning (“on the promises of God”) right now and after reading your article I feel encouraged to face the rest of today.
Hmmmm…I guess it depends on the intensity of the pressure (hereto described as wind). If we are talking about the pressure(s) which we Pastors face for example, they are usually people generated, and the wind can be mighty and fierce. The question remains thus, can one person lean into, or withstand the wind from multiple directions and of multiplied force and still survive, let alone thrive! I’ve been leaning into the wind for many years!
Wayne, I agree….pastor’s do face wind from multiple directions….a swirling kind of thing really. “Leaning” for me isn’t as helpful a picture as if deep roots. We had some storms here recently that really tested our trees. The wind was swirling around from all directions and I watched as they were buffeted about. Some groaned and creaked. Some actually failed. But two kinds of trees seemed to come through it OK. The big ones….the ones with the very deep roots and strong trunks and the very small ones…because they were so nimble and seemed to be able to adapt very quickly to the changes. The ones in the middle..those that were neither nimble nor strong/deep…well, they seemed to be the ones that took the worst beating. That tells me that pastors, if we are to survive the “storms” of ministry, over the long-haul must be deep and strong. Young and nimble…while adaptable….must develop deep roots to survive over the long haul. I’m told that storms do help trees grow stronger…not unlike exercise. So, thank God for the swirling wind of ministry! Praying for deep roots. Tim P.S. I really liked the article…even going to share it with my leadership!
Wow, exactly what I am facing. Trying to decide when enough is enough. I am facing transition, a new challenge, paradigm shift, health & financial problems. I feel God with me, but still don’t know where we are headed. Today I want to withdraw, but maybe for right now I can lean a bit.
I agree that trying to avoid the wind really doesn’t achieve anything – running scared is no way to minister, and is the antithesis of leadership. But perhaps we need more concrete ideas of what leaning into the wind might look like? How can I lean into patronising comments, silent refusal to comply with requests, criticisms made behind my back, more and less blatant threats to withdraw support or membership if I don’t do what my parishioners want me to, pressure to spend in a traditional area at the expense of an area of potential growth? I have some ideas (and in fact that list is from previous experience, not right now!) but it would be great to have some practical suggestions from others who have been there, vs an abstraction!
@Katie…great questions! I think the first challenge is to recognize you have a choice in how to respond, which means choosing to control our thoughts, our attitudes, and possibly even our words. For me personally, the biggest practical thing is to avoid feeling sorry for myself. This sets a tone that I can handle any of the situations you mention.
I would love to hear you ideas…and perhaps we can come up with a follow up post?!
Hi Sue – thanks for your response! At the moment I’m chewing over how Christian leaders *should* respond to these sorts of pressures – there seems to be an expectation (both from other ministers, and from church members) that someone in Christian leadership should absorb the bad stuff that people throw at us, and bounce back as if nothing happened; but I’m not sure that’s realistic, or helpful. Is it ever helpful to let someone know that they have caused pain to their leader? How do you do that? And then, are there people who have worked out strategies for processing the pain of situations like these, in such a way that they can stay healthy, as well as maintaining energy for ministry, and coming up with appropriate responses that help volunteers to grow? My experience is that if I’m feeling hurt, I want to crawl away into my little cave and stay there – not great for responding, or continuing to be productive! Getting angry is much more energising, but is a dangerous place to make decisions from; and of course, sometimes the criticisms are justified, so I need to be sure being angry isn’t stopping me from listening humbly. But sometimes the other person or group are in the wrong, if not for their opinions, then for the way they’ve gone about getting their way; and I would really appreciate hearing people’s wisdom about how to be a godly leader in that situation; how do I set aside my hurt feelings, but still lovingly help the other person to see where they have gone astray? I find while I wait for my anger to cool off, the motivation to confront the offender dissipates, and then most often I chicken out of addressing the situation at all.
Thanks Sue, this was an encouraging word today.