Thursday, November 7, 2013

The Beauty Of "It"!




Over the last few weeks thru various conversations,  this word - PRESSURE - has surfaced more than a few times.  I've noticed that many want to avoid it!  Or they haven't been taught how to welcome it! To many it's like a plague or disease! 


This summer while on vacation, we got to spend several days at a secluded mountain cabin.  While enjoying the front porch river view, I noticed these huge butterfly bushes that attracted hundreds of butterflies. I mean hundreds!  They were breathtakingly beautiful!  Colors filled each wing tip uniquely and perfectly.  Each flutter was perfectly timed.  


I would like to think that God put these little winged beauties on display just for me!   I had finally stopped and sat long enough to capture this view!  (Those who know me, know that I typically don't like to reside in quiet places for too long, nor to sit or stop - for too long!). My eyes were glued to these little gems!  Some even landed on my hand before launching off to their next stop!


It's hard for me to comprehend how our God is so creative that He designed this little critter, so intricately in every detail, but it has to endure various "seasons" of pressure to get to the beauty.  The butterflies aren't that glamored up and pretty when they are slimy caterpillar's.  Believe me, I avoid them!  Seriously, don't bring caterpillar's near me!

I may not know why He created them with this kind of process to get to the beauty,  with a defined season, but I am thankful for the chance to enjoy their colors in their final stage!  In the seasons of our lives, we may walk through pressures too. Some may be from crazy schedules, high demand jobs,  financial challenges, relationships, grief or failures.  I am confident that God has a purpose with each of these.

We've got to get it deep within our minds that God purposed "pressure" isn't bad!  If you allow God the chance and the room in the season you are in, He will reveal to you the beauty.  


  • You may have to wait for it - The Beauty! You can't rush this.    Don't try to skip a step, or a season, or a moment - to avoid the pressure. If you do, you are going to miss the fullness of all He is trying to accomplish in you.  The beautiful you!

  • You may have to "shed" some things off to get to it - The Beauty!  Maybe it's an attitude, a past filled with regret, an unhealthy relationship, a perspective.  What needs to be adjusted?  What needs to be "taken off" so you can see the beautiful view clearly?  It may hurt.  But if we trust it - the beauty will be worth it.
 
  •  You may have to adjust the compass. God pressure is attempting to force you into a certain position or direction.   Dependence on Him, not yourself.   Fully giving worship and honor to God & His plan!  Why fight it?

  • You may have to journey through some rough places (thorns, bushes & barren lands with no nectar or sweetness) to discover it -  the beauty of YOU!  In these rough places,  you could feel alone, forgotten, abandoned.  This isn't a terrain many dare to go.  This last leg of the journey is for the brave.  This step is for those who know there is beauty waiting, if they dare journey through.  If you forfeit here, you could get stuck.   Will you choose to push through the thorns?  Lonely places?  Fearful moments?   Or stay back - avoiding and running from it (the beauty), again?

Don't you dare miss this!     Trust Him to show you the beauty and make the pressure beautiful!  He is a Master at this!   We can trust Him.  


Dictionary.com

press/pressure

1.  to act upon with steadily applied weight or force.
2.  to move by weight or force in a certain direction or into a certain position: The crowd pressed him into a corner.
3.  to compress or squeeze, as to alter in shape or size: He pressed the clay into a ball.
4.  to weigh heavily upon; subject to pressure.
5.  to hold closely, as in an embrace; clasp: He pressed her in his arms.