The blessing is in the pressing!

Okay.... that title has a couple of different "interpretations".  First, for me anyway, is in pressing in to get closer to Jesus.  Yes, there is a blessing as you just rest and stay in that place of quietness, so that Jesus can come closer to us.  I love to consider this!  What a blessing it is to draw into that deeper place of closeness through the Holy Spirit.   I love this picture above, however, because I need to be reminded that it is NOT about striving!  The pressing in is always about being quiet and resting so that Jesus can bring me closer.

And then there is another PRESSING.  You know, when the world seems to weigh you down.  Or even circumstances that feel crushing.  There have certainly been plenty of those times in my own life.  And my facebook feed seems to be filled with people who have really pressing situations going on right now.   So I love this reminder that there is BLESSING in that pressing time.  Notice it does not say blessing when you are out of the pressing stuff.  The blessing can be found IN the bad times.  That is hard for people who are in the midst of "stuff".  That is why I am declaring that blessing right now for all of them!  

Isn't it great that we can stand with our brothers and sisters who are in tough situations and remind them that Jesus is all about blessing them?  I don't know where I would be without the body of Christ standing with me.  Seriously, being alone is not good!

Now for the truth telling.   My notes from Saturday night begin like this.....
"I am feeling very lonely here tonight.  It seems like everyone is in a group or there are lots of couples around me.  Does this mean that I shouldn't have come tonight?  How can I feel so alone and so lonely when I am surround by a large crowd of people?"
Isn't it interesting to read that after you have seen my last two blogs.  Remember I said that Saturday was amazing and changed so much for me?  Yes, that's right.  I started the night feeling like I shouldn't have bothered going to this event.   You see, Satan will do whatever he can to try to keep us out of the blessing.   But the joke is on him.  Because in the uncertainty and pressure, that is where the blessing is.  So, when those feelings were hitting me and I started to feel overwhelmed, I just stopped and took a deep breath and cried out to Jesus.  The worship began and then everything was okay.  Surely there was a blessing in the pressing.

Jesus, thank you, again for Saturday night.  Thank you for the reminder that you will draw close to us when we seek to draw close to you.  Thank you for giving me a very real example of feeling "pressed" and then knowing I had been very blessed.   Holy Spirit, reach out to us tonight and bring that measure of quiet peace that will help us to feel that blessing - where ever we are and no matter what our circumstance say.  Thank you for the body of Christ - our sisters and brothers - that stand with us and believe and hope FOR us.  Amen