When the Pressure Crushes
YouGlynnis
Whitwer
"We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to
endure,
so that we despaired of life itself ... But this happened that we might not
rely
on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead." 2 Corinthians 1:8b, 9b
(NIV)
It seemed pressure came from every direction. It was
unrelenting. Financial pressures brought worry. Children issues brought
frustration. And an overloaded schedule kept me up at night. It got so bad I
wanted to have a bonfire with all my to-do lists and make
s'mores.
Being a naturally self-sufficient person, my instincts
led
me to work harder. How could I make more money? What new parenting
technique
would make this child behave? If I pulled an all-nighter could I knock my
emails
down to a manageable number?
I picked up the pace. Buckled down. Slept less.
Instituted
logical consequences for my child. And re-wrote my to-do lists. I was
determined
to pull myself together. After all, that's who I am ... at least that's who
I
was.
In the past, my Lone Ranger attempts at managing
circumstances worked. But not this time.
Debts mounted. My child's problems increased. And
consequently, I fell further behind. The pressure just kept increasing
instead
of going away.
Never in my life had circumstances been so
overwhelmingly
beyond my control. I was surrounded by things I couldn't whip into shape,
including my own emotions. I felt like such a failure, and was so ashamed
that I
couldn't manage the assignments God had given me. Finally, with no solutions
in
sight, I broke down before God, crying out in desperation, certain He'd be
as
disappointed with me as I was.
After all, I was the girl He was supposed to be able
to
count on. I was the dependable one. And here I was falling
apart.
With my emotions a tangled mess, I poured out all my
fears, weakness, and insecurities to God. Even my prayers seemed jumbled and
incoherent. And in the midst of my tears, I declared "I can't even pray
right!"
Never had I needed God more. Well, to be honest, never had I really needed
God.
In the aftermath of my breakdown, something started to
change in me. It was subtle, kind of like the dawn, when pitch black moments
start to take shape.
My self-sufficiency was slipping, being replaced by
God-dependency. Peace snuck in where I didn't expect it. Circumstances
didn't
change, but my understanding did. God never needed to depend on me ...
rather I
was to depend on Him.
Although I'd been a Christian for many years, and
loved
and followed God with what I thought was all my heart, it seemed I'd held
something back. In the midst of that pressure-cooker time, I realized
believing
in God isn't the same as trusting Him. God used pressure that felt crushing
to
lead me to dependence that felt freeing.
Recently I read a passage in 1 Corinthians that
perfectly
summarized what God taught me during that time: "We were under great
pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired of life
itself
... But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who
raises
the dead. He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver
us
again. On him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us" (vv.
8b,
9b-10)
Pressure in life is never easy. But God can use it to
take
our faith deeper if we let Him. It started for me by admitting my
insufficiency,
and realizing God wasn't disappointed by that confession. In fact, He
invites me
to need Him.
Heavenly Father, please forgive me for all the times I've said
"I
don't need You" through my actions. I admit I can't manage my life alone,
and
need Your help. Thank You for being all-sufficient and all-powerful and
loving
me enough to never shame me for what I can't manage. I love You. In Jesus'
Name,
Amen.
Daily Smile:
A little girl was talking to her teacher about whales. The teacher said it was physically impossible for a whale to swallow a human because even though a whale is a very large mammal, its throat is very small. The little girl stated that Jonah was swallowed by a whale. The teacher reiterated that a whale could not swallow a human, it was impossible. The little girl said, "When I get to heaven I will ask Jonah".
The teacher asked, "What if Jonah went to hell?"
The little girl replied, "Then you ask him!"
In The News:
ACLU Sues Obama Administration Over NSA Surveillance
The American Civil Liberties Union is suing the Obama administration
over the National Security Administration's massive phone data
collection program, USA Today reports.
In its lawsuit, the ACLU said the program that harvests phone calls
violates the rights of all Americans. "The program goes far beyond even
the permissive limits set by the Patriot Act and represents a gross
infringement of the freedom of association and the right to privacy,"
said Jameel Jaffer, the ACLU's deputy legal director. Meanwhile, Google
sought permission to disclose more details about another contested NSA
program, one that allows the government to collect online information
from non-U.S. citizens. Additionally, Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif.,
who chairs the Senate Intelligence Committee, told reporters she has
asked Gen. Keith Alexander -- the head of the NSA and U.S. Cyber Command
-- to declassify more information about its phone and Internet
surveillance programs. The goal is "so that we can talk about them,
because I think they're really helpful," she said. President Obama and
aides have defended the programs, saying they have helped prevent
terrorist attacks and are subject to oversight by Congress and a special
(and secret) court. "They make a difference in our capacity to
anticipate and prevent possible terrorist activity," Obama said, also
citing "strict supervision by all three branches of government. ... They
do not involve listening to people's phone calls, do not involve
reading the e-mails of U.S. citizens or U.S. residents absent further
action by a federal court that is entirely consistent with what we would
do, for example, in a criminal investigation."
Outlook for 2013 Teen Summer Jobs: Bleak
While the overall job market is showing improvement, the employment
prospects for teens looking for summer work remain unusually bleak, with
one in four job-hunting teens idle, Jim Liebelt reports.
Teen unemployment was 24.5 percent last month, more than triple the
national jobless rate of 7.6 percent, according to the Bureau of Labor
Statistics. Those unemployment rates reflect only those people who are
actively looking for work, not those who have given up or never looked
in the first place. Joblessness among teens 16-19 traditionally is far
greater than the national average, but their current unemployment rate
is "really high," said Diana Carew, an economist for the Progressive
Policy Institute, a Washington, D.C.-based think tank. Though the
economy is rebounding, the teen unemployment rate has remained virtually
unchanged over the past two years. Economists say the trend is driven
by a still slow economy in which older adults and people in their early-
to mid-20s compete with teens for low-level jobs. Only a third of
teenagers between the ages of 16 and 19 look for paid work today,
according to BLS data. Half of working-age teens participated in the
labor force during the late 1990s.
Teacher in Egypt Sentenced for 'Defaming' Islam
A judge in Upper Egypt found a Christian teacher guilty of defaming
Islam and levied a massive fine against her after prohibiting her
lawyers from presenting a single witness during the trial, Morning Star
News reports.
Dimyana Obeid Abd Al-Nour escaped jail time, but she was fined 100,000
Egyptian pounds (US$14,270), far beyond her ability to pay. She is on
the verge of a nervous breakdown, said her father, Ebed Abd Al-Nour. He
said his daughter did nothing wrong. "I am very upset right now by the
sentence," he said. "My daughter is innocent and should not have been
given such a sentence." Al-Nour a 24-year-old first-year teacher in
Egypt, made less than US$300 a month before she lost her position in the
wake of the accusations against her. Her family is poor, and she could
be sent to jail for failure to pay a court-ordered fine if unable to
find the money. Muslims created a clamor in the courtroom that put
intense pressure on the judge, said a human rights advocate who was
surprised that the guilty verdict did not send her to prison. "I
personally was expecting a prison sentence, but thank God she was only
given a fine," said Mohammed Noubi, a human rights advocate with the
Luxor office of the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights. "There was a
lot of pressure and uproar inside the courtroom."
Texas state Rep. Phil King is calling for a full investigation of late-term abortion doctor Douglas Karpen, Christian News Service reports.
The call for an investigation comes after King viewed a video recorded
by the pro-life group Life Dynamics, in which three of Karpen's former
employees admitted to participating in numerous instances in which
babies were born alive and killed during abortion procedures at his
Houston clinic. Life Dynamics officials said the actions of Karpen were not much different from the actions of Philadelphia abortionist Kermit Gosnell,
who was recently given a life sentence for his crimes. Rep. King
informed Life Dynamics that his office mailed the DVD to the homicide
division of the Houston Police Department, as well as letters to the
executive director of the Texas Medical Board and the commissioner of
the Texas Department of State Health Services, requesting a full
investigation. The letters were co-signed by 20 Texas lawmakers. "We
strongly support a full investigation into the allegations of Dr. Karpen,"
King wrote. "As a state, we must ensure that the health and safety of
women and children are being protected by laws and regulations in
place." Mark Crutcher,
president of Life Dynamics, said, "If the abortion lobby thinks this
issue is going away, they are literally whistling past the graveyard."
Texas Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst has demanded a full-scale investigation into Karpen, and the Texas Department of State Health Services said of the investigation, "This is a very high priority for us."
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