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

The carrot, the egg and the coffee bean....

If I have learned one thing on this vacation it is to breath in during the horrible storms we have been driving through.  Ken and I were remembering one amazing vacation several years ago, when we drove over 3800 miles and never had one drop of rain!  This trip has not been like that.  We have had rain, RAIN AND MORE RAIN!  And of course, the worst storms always seem to happen in the cities with the most traffic!  Today I remembered to breath.  I remembered to pray.  I remembered to ask others to pray.  And then I picked up my phone and started looking at Facebook!  Isn't that a good way to take your mind off of the wind and the rain and the lightening?  Which brings me to the title of this post.   I saw a little story that has been on my mind the rest of the day.

The story compared hard and difficult times to a pot of boiling water.  The water doesn't change.  Just like our circumstances sometimes don't change.  So the question is...............  when you are in that pot of boiling water, are you a carrot, an egg or a coffee bean?   The carrot starts off hard and solid.  But when dropped into that boiling water, it become soft and squishy.  It really doesn't hold up.  The egg has a hard exterior. It seems like it will be fine, but under those hot and boiling circumstances, the inside become hard. The coffee bean doesn't seem to change.  BUT the water changes.  Instead of being effected by the boiling water..... it changes the environment! 

I want to be a coffee bean!  How about you?  I want to stay solid and firm.  I don't want to get soft and mushy like that carrot.  And I know that I don't want to harden my heart like that egg.  And the coffee bean doesn't just change the water.... it releases a wonderful aroma that draws people in.   Once again I am in awe of Yahweh's plan for us.  He designed us to be able to not only get through difficult times, but we can actually change things in the midst of troubles and storms.  AND we can release a wonderful aroma of joy and peace at the same time.   The best part about this is that the coffee bean doesn't have to DO ANYTHING!!!!!  It just is!!!   It just gets thrown into that hot water and then just has to BE! 

So, I am going to think of myself as a coffee bean!  I will remember that I don't have to DO anything at all.  Those tough and difficult situations will happen, but in the midst of them, it is Yahweh's plan to release HIS presence and power that changes things.  And it is His aroma that swirls out as joy, and peace and love.  What a relief! 

Thanks to the person that posted that wonderful story.  It has given me much to think and meditate about.  The story helped me to relax and travel through the storm as we drove.  I love little things that help me to hold on to these concepts.  Today it is a coffee bean!

Yahweh, what a wonderful, loving, amazing God you are.  I am in awe of your plans and your purposes.  You reign over the heavens and over the earth.  You are King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Thank you for showing me your plan in the little things.  Thank you for the coffee bean! (And the coffee!).   Amen