When You Are Under Pressure

Greetings brothers and sisters in Christ. I don't know about you, but I have a lot of stress in my life. (I imagine many of your heads are nodding in agreement) I ran across this wonderful message from Bob Russell, Senior Preaching Minister at Southeast Christian Church. It helped me put things in perspective."Esther’s life resembled a fairy tale. An orphan girl won a national beauty contest and was crowned queen of a foreign country. A Jewish peasant, she prospered in a foreign country and was now living in the luxury of the palace. For four years Esther enjoyed the privilege of being the wife of the King of Persia.

One almost expects the book to end, “And they lived happily ever after.” But one day Esther discovered that special privilege often brings added responsibility, Shakespeare wrote, “Heavy hangs the head that wears the crown.” The Bible cautions, “From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded” (Luke 12:48).

One day Esther’s cousin/guardian, Mordecai, nervously informed her of an evil plot to exterminate all Jews living in the Kingdom. He pleaded with her to use her influence with the king to save her people from certain extinction. He pressured her with the now-familiar phrase. “Who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this” (Esther 4:14).
Esther’s privileged position had now become a heavy burden. She was very uncertain about trying to intervene on behalf of her people. She could be humiliated. She could lose her crown. She could even lose her life.

Isn’t it your experience that special privilege usually brings added pressure? You worked hard to win the favor of the most wonderful person and won – you got married! But you soon discovered that marriage is not a fairy tale. You are expected to be an unselfish, considerate, compassionate mate even when you don’t feel like it and even when it’s not deserved. That’s pressure.

You looked forward to having children and when the baby was born you were ecstatic. But you discovered that the privilege of parenting brings the pressure of time-demands, discipline problems, and repeated disappointments.

You finally got the job promotion you craved. The congratulatory notes and the increase in salary were ego-boosts. But the praise was short-lived and now you live everyday with demanding deadlines, irate customers, imperfect employees and self-imposed pressures.

When you first became a Christian there was a joyous feeling of release from guilt and hope for eternity. But that joy was soon followed by the responsibilities of witnessing, tithing, discipling, battling temptation, and church leadership.

John Blanchard in his book, Truth For Life, wrote, “Anyone who suggests that once a person becomes a Christian his troubles are over is speaking from an empty head and a closed Bible.” Think of the Bible characters who were honored because they did the right thing under pressure: Noah building the ark, Joseph overcoming temptation, Moses confronting Pharaoh, Nehemiah rebuilding the wall, David hiding from King Saul, Mary delivering a baby away from home, the Apostle Paul preaching in hostile cities.

Esther responded well under pressure too. She mustered the courage to request an audience with the king (Esther 5:1-2). Once the king showed her favor, she patiently waited and wisely planned for the right setting to express her concerns. Days later when the opportune moment came, she succinctly, factually stated her case and then boldly identified the primary source of the wicked plot against her people. God used Esther’s beauty, charm and courage to soften the king’s heart and spare the Hebrew nation.

When you are pressured, it doesn’t mean that you are living outside the will of God. Stress is often the reward for advantage and can present a special opportunity to serve or a dramatic occasion to witness to others. Be courageous. Be tactful. Be creative. Most importantly, be faithful to God. Do the right thing even though you don’t know in advance how it will turn out. Perhaps God has called you into your position for a time just like this."

Blessings,

Bill