Wednesday, June 26, 2019

Week Twenty-Six - Momma Needs Ten Minutes


     When I was a young mother with five kiddos under the age of eight, I remember the pressure of trying to keep up with the housework, mountains of laundry, endless meals, caring for the children, and the demands of ministry, etc.  Sometimes the pressure would build until I had to get behind a closed door.  As I retreated to my bedroom, I announced, “Momma needs ten minutes.” 
     There I would decompress before I exploded!  Flat on the bed I would pray, cry, and shut my eyes for just a few minutes asking the Lord for strength to continue.  As I opened the door to face the remainder of the day, five sets of beautiful dark eyes greeted me.  We joined in a group hug and got back to the job of life.
     Pressure comes from many areas, finances, health, marriage, jobs., and a variety of relationships that all take a toll on our personal sanity and strength. Seems even watching the nightly news can create a subconscious pressure and fear.  This world is full of it!
    David Jeremiah tells the story of a submarine crushed by the force of the ocean depths.  As the examiners investigated the cause of the accident, they noticed fish swimming around the wreckage.  After a good look, they discovered the fish were designed to have the same pressure inside their tiny bodies as the pressure coming from the water around them.  Only a thin layer of skin divided the two great forces enabling the fish to withstand the ocean depths.
     In order to withstand the pressure we face from the outside world; we need an equal or greater power working within us.  My mind immediately went to Ephesians 3:16, “That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man.”  I remember when this verse caught my attention.  I had done a little study of all the 3:16 verses in the New Testament.  This one popped up.  I knew I needed this promise, this prayer, this verse.  I needed the strength in my inner man.  And I saw what I hope you see—that the strength is not my own.  It is His Spirit within me that gives me the might I need.
     I also thought of 1 John 4:4, “Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.”  Greater is He that is in you!  And greater is He than whatever is on the outside.  We are overcomers because of His presence and power in our lives.
     The pressure of this world will crush us unless we have an equal or greater power working inside us.  God knows that, so He provides the power we need to withstand.
     That power is gained by time alone with the Lord, being in the word, and prayer. But also, by keeping our lives free for poisonous radicals like pride, fear, anger, and sin.  A healthy balance in our Christian life creates for us an internal pressure protecting us from the crushing and destroying outside forces.
     I didn’t know the example of the fish when I made my bedroom retreat, but I knew I needed at least ten minutes to regain the strength I needed to endure the challenges of life and He was my only source.
    How about you?  Are you strong inwardly?  Are there toxic radicals tearing away at your strength?  Does the pressure of the world around you destroy or inhibit your spiritual mood?  Maybe it’s time to draw aside so you can draw strength, refresh, and renew.  Close that door and ask!
     Remember—the power in you is stronger than the power outside of you.  You have only to draw on that power—His power—to face your pressures.

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