We are hard pressed on every side, yet not crushed

I don't know about you, but there are times I have trouble holding on in
life! We are constantly battered with problems and pressures from every
side. And sometimes it sounds nice to just let go of our life and find a way
of escape.

Giving up though is not an option for those of us who are Christians. If we
understand our relationship with God and the blessings he gives us, we will
hold on to our faith no matter what. We will continue living our life as
faithful servants of God who gives us the ability to overcome the pressures
of this world.

The commitment we need to have to holding on is somewhat like the fellow in
this story:
It seems that a little skinny man applied for a job as a dock worker. The
foreman looked him over carefully and said, "You're too small." The little
man was indignant and said, "I can do any job that your biggest men can
handle. At least give me a chance to prove myself." "Alright," the foreman
said, "over there you will find a group of men loading 300 pound anvils. You
go ahead and join them." Everything went fine until all of a sudden there
was a terrific splash and someone cried, "Man overboard!"

The foreman rushed to the side of the dock. There was the small man
thrashing furiously in the water. He was gasping for air as his head bobbed
up and down. "Throw me a rope," he yelled. "Throw me a rope and hurry," he
cried as he went under the water once again. As he bobbed back to the
surface once again, he cried, "If you don't hurry up with that rope I'm
going to let go of this anvil!"

How long we can hold on is sometimes motivated by our commitment to
something more important than ourselves and understanding from where the
power do comes. The apostle Paul wrote about this problem (and the solution)
in 2 Corinthians 4: 8-13. Notice what he writes:

"We are hard pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but
not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not
destroyed, always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus,
that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body. For we who live
are always delivered to death for Jesus' sake, that the life of Jesus also
may be manifested in our mortal flesh. So then death is working in us, but
life in you. And since we have the same spirit of faith, according to what
is written, "I believed and therefore I spoke," we also believe and
therefore speak." (NKJV)

What is your motivation for holding on and serving God? I'm reminded of the
old Bill Cosby comedy routine where God is speaking to Noah and Noah is not
sure he wants undertake the task of building the Ark. God asked, "Noah, how
long can you tread water."

How about you? We are surrounded by a sea of troubles, but we are never
abandoned by God. The psalmist said, " I believed and therefore I spoke." In
what do you believe? Is it enough to sustain you in the pressures of life?
If not, maybe you need to take another look at your relationship to the one
who can do all things, our God!

Russ Lawson