So, let’s be honest, most of us don’t love dealing with pressure, right? At the very least, it’s uncomfortable, but often it can feel extremely painful. I don’t know about you, but the older I get the more I try to plan so I can avoid excess pressure.
Here’s the thing, pressure isn’t always a bad thing. In fact, some of the best things in life are produced under extreme pressure. Diamonds aren’t the beautiful rocks we see until after they’ve gone through unbelievable pressure. Babies are born through the intense pressure of labor contractions. The reality is that intense pressure can produce amazing things.
Makes you wonder, doesn’t it? Why are we so afraid of pressure?
Well, while it’s true that pressure is not necessarily a bad thing, there are indeed some negative pressures we need to watch for. Although, even with these there could be an argument made that when we trust the LORD to lead just through them they can produce good results, but that’s perhaps a discussion for another post. When we talk about dealing with pressure, we need to learn to recognize the difference between good and bad pressure.
Every human being deals with this issue in life. We could categorize it into two groups: societal pressure and internal/self-pressure. Understanding where the pressure comes from is an important key in developing a personal management system for emotional and mental well-being.
It’s not only helpful but critical, to learn how to recognize symptoms of negative pressure. Are you feeling isolated? Frustrated? Angry? Bitter or resentful? These emotions are all indicators that should not be ignored. Check out this week’s episode on, The Pastor and the Counselor as Pastor Ryan Brown, and counselors, Jon Burchard and Corryn Vento talk about dealing with pressure and as they map out some practice ways to reframe and leverage the process.
Episode
Written by Maureen Brown
Maureen Is our Worship and Communications Pastor. She has served New Life Community alongside Pastor Ryan for 19 years. She is passionate about Jesus and His Church, which is why she does what she does. Maureen has been leading worship, teaching, and mentoring her entire adult life. She graduated in 1996, from Emmanuel Bible College with a Bachelor of Religious Education in Professional Studies with a double minor in Christian Education and Music and then married Ryan—the love of her life. Maureen is a blogger so she brings a special set of gifts that are well used in the area of Communications here at NLC.