Audio
Become a spiritual diamond
Do you ever feel pressure? Is that a silly question? It is said that diamonds are only produced under great pressure. I do not know about you but sometimes I feel more like a crushed vermin than a diamond.
There are different types of pressure, but the way we think most often is the pressure of daily life. It can be harmful or it can shape us. Another, potentially potentially harmful, way is the pressure to act and act in a specific way. No doubt we put ourselves under this pressure. Sometimes we get under him through media. Although we try not to be influenced, subtle messages succeed in infiltrating and influencing our minds.
Some pressure comes from our environment - the spouse, the boss, the friends and even our children. Some of it comes from our background. I remember hearing about the yellow pencil phenomenon when I was a freshman at Ambassador College in Big Sandy. We were not all the same, but the expectation seemed to be to give us some shape. Some of us achieved different shades of yellow, but others never changed their color.
One of the demands of the legalism behind us was that everyone had to follow the same rules and behaviors, and even go the same way. This did not allow much room for individuality or freedom of expression.
The pressure to adapt seems largely gone, but sometimes we still feel it. This pressure can cause feelings of inadequacy, perhaps even an urge to rebel. We may still feel drawn to suppressing our uniqueness. But if we do, we destroy the spontaneity of the Holy Spirit.
God does not want yellow pencils, and he does not want us to compare with each other. But it is difficult to build and maintain one's identity when one has been designed or pressed to strive for the standards of perfection of others.
God wants us to listen to the gentle guidance of the Holy Spirit and to express the individuality he has given us. To do this, we must listen to the gentle, tender voice of God and respond to what he says. We can only listen and respond to Him if we are in harmony with the Holy Spirit and allow Him to lead us. Do you remember that Jesus told us not to be afraid?
But what if the pressure comes from other Christians or your church and you seem to be pulling you in a direction you do not want to go into? Is it wrong not to follow? No, because when we all are in harmony with the Holy Spirit, we all go in the direction of God. And we will neither judge others nor exert pressure on others to go where God does not lead us.
Let us tune into God and discover his expectations for us. As we respond to his gentle pressure, we become the spiritual diamonds that we want to become at will.
by Tammy Tkach
