Understanding Pressure
In this life, we will all have pressures. You cannot escape them. None of us can create or maintain an stress-free, pressure-free life. In fact, just trying to alleviate or eliminate pressure is pressure. A friend and I talked about this just yesterday while we were out doing some shopping. Pressures of all sorts are just a matter of life and living. Pressures come and go. At times, your pressure may look more financial; other times you may experience health or relational pressure. Possibly, you are struggling emotionally, spiritually, or intellectually. One friend in the past two weeks described being in brain fog. Regardless of the pressures you have, how you look at pressure can make a big difference. How do you understand or categorize your personal pressures?
The Starting Point of Understanding Life’s Pressures
Where and how you begin to understand your life pressure makes a big difference. Let me explain it with glasses or a lens. The lens you look through matters a great deal.
The Bible provides us a primary lens through which to view our pressures. The apostle Paul puts it in simple terms, which is helpful. Notice what he writes: “No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it” (1 Corinthians 10:13).
You may be wondering where the word pressure is in the verse you just read. Great question. The word translated temptation is the Bible’s word for pressure or pressure-filled circumstances. In a very literal translation, you could write, “No pressure-filled circumstance has overtaken you except such as is common to man.”
Did you catch what Paul wrote? Let me put it in the positive. Every pressure you have fits inside the biblical category of “common to mankind.” In other words, the lens you begin with as you view your circumstance is a “common to mankind” lens.
Is your circumstance tough? Maybe so.
Is your circumstance unusual in your age group or social group? Possibly.
Does your circumstance feel different than many of the others around you? Probably.
Is your circumstance normal to humankind? Absolutely.
This is a great lens through which to begin to view your circumstance or circumstantial pressures. They are normal to mankind.
Why is this a great lens? When we see our circumstances through the right lens, we can also begin to see our way through the circumstances with the right solutions.
Let me use a sports analogy for a moment. When a young player gets placed into the game for the first time, many times they have a hard time. For instance with a quarterback, you can spot poor reads, inaccurate throws, and a general uncomfortableness in the game. However, the longer the quarterback is in that situation, commentators and coaches refer to the game “slowing down” for the quarterback. In other words, the quarterback gets perspective. He begins to view the game differently because he sees it differently. Everyone does not seem to be as fast and things aren’t happening so quickly; instead, it slows down. Now, does the game actually slow down? No. However, the way the quarterback perceives it changes the “speed” of the game. What seemed overwhelming at first, now does not to the young quarterback. Where before he struggled making quality throws and the best decisions, now he can do a much better job at both.
Back to circumstances. When you start with the biblical lens of “common to mankind,” it helps your game slow down. You begin to see and understand your pressure better. In fact, you can respond better because you understand the pressures around you better.
In addition, there is one more major benefit of seeing life through the correct lens, “common to mankind.” When you see your pressures correctly, then the appropriate biblical categories, themes, and truths become clearer in how they help you. Where the Bible, at first, did not look like it addressed your pressures or their solutions, once you look through the correct lens, then you see how much the Bible actually has to say to you. The Bible grants you everything you need in order to respond to your circumstances in a way that honors God. Just like the quarterback, the game slows down enough for you to begin to respond in ways that honor God, since you are no longer overwhelmed or confused by your circumstances.
Which Lens Do You Use?
Which lens do you use to see your own personal circumstances? Do you view your circumstances as “common to mankind“? Or, do you view your circumstances through one of the countless lenses you can get from the world? The world offers every type of lens you can imagine. Will you use psychology as your lens? Personal experience or the experience of others? A false religion? Politics? Education? Literally, the list of lenses through which you can view your life is endless.
Here’s the problem though: if you do not start with God’s “common to mankind” lens, then you will inevitably respond poorly or in a less-than-God-honoring way. And dear Christian brother or sister, as followers of Jesus Christ, none of us want to do that.
Remember, if you begin with the right lens, then you will be able to see the best solutions through God’s Word, helpful advice from other brothers and sisters in Christ, and as you listen to your pastor’s sermons in worship. Your spiritual game will slow down enough for you to see life develop around you in a speed that allows for the best and wisest decisions for the glory of God.
This article first appeared on KevinCarson.com.