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Lesson #5     Power - The Gift of Pressure

Issue:  How can I keep pressure from getting the best of me?

Solution: Transform your pressure into power.

What We Will Cover in this Lesson

• The gift of pressure
• The four steps to transforming pressure into power
• Action step

Pressure is the single most powerful stimulus for growth and an essential part of life. We spiritually grow and reproduce, not in the absence of pressure, but because of it.

God has designed each of us with a unique calling and purpose. It's our job to develop the character needed to fulfill our calling. We possess deep within us an innate ability to explore, overcome and create under pressure. The compelling call of God, then, coupled with our inherent ability to fulfill our call creates a powerful force. This constructive pressure enables us to fulfill our God-given potential.

We often consider pressure as negative stress (to be dealt with) rather than positive energy (on which to capitalize). In reality, pressure motivates us toward our goals. It strengthens us to tackle and overcome challenging circumstances in our life. Pressure compels us toward excellence and significance. It empowers us to rise to the occasion and prevail over circumstances that threaten to derail us.

Pressure confronts us with a choice. We can employ our gifts wisely to transform pressure into power or we can let pressure create negative stress that can derail us from our potential. Therefore, pressure is a double-edged sword. It can be a catalyst for clarity and direction or it can cause tremendous doubt and confusion. Pressure can be transformed into power or it can render one powerless.

Four Steps to Transform Pressure into Power

Step 1   Awareness - See your world from God's perspective

An environment filled with pressure can dull our senses and create a lack of awareness of our surroundings. We get blindsided by an outside influence or we allow our own thinking to sabotage our success. Bottom-line -we're not perfect. The uncertainty of our circumstances clouds our judgment.

We need to replace our imperfect judgment with wisdom and discernment. Discernment is the ability to understand something that isn't readily seen. Wisdom is seeing the world from God's perspective; it's a gift that helps you know and do the right thing under pressure Together, discernment and wisdom form a powerful tool to increase our awareness of internal and external threats. 

Step 2  Alignment -Transform negative tendencies into creative tension

It's not the breadth of knowledge that provides us with clarity and direction, but the depth of our wisdom and the height of our character. Creative tension is the healthy and positive pressure you experience as you dialogue with God. We tend to think that an absence of pressure is the healthiest scenario. That's false. The absence of pressure is stagnation; we become apathetic. Pressure is a catalyst that causes us to grow in faith and character.

Tested faith is part of the natural process of growing in character and God's nature. Working through difficulties, doubts and dilemmas doesn't separate us from God; it unifies us with God. Doubt and difficulty aren't bad. Rather than cause us to descend from our faith, they're a means of growing in faith.

Step 3  Adaptability - Develop resiliency in uncertainty

Adaptability is the ability to modify your thoughts and behaviors to accommodate life's ever-changing circumstances. Adaptability occurs by developing resiliency. Resiliency is the process of successfully adjusting to difficult or challenging life experiences. It helps us modify our plans when something unexpected arises, bounce back from setbacks and endure long periods of adversity. The bi-products of resiliency are growth, maturity and fruit-bearing.

Step 4  Action - Wisdom plus action equals power

In the parable of the loaned money, Jesus stated, You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. That's how power works; one small act of faith at a time. This is what's expected of us: To seek God's wisdom and have the faith to act upon it. Power is knowing the right thing to do and doing the right thing, one thought at a time, one decision at a time and one act at a time.

Action Step

Identify the pressure in your life. Does it propel you toward your potential or does it derail you? If the pressure you presently face derails you, how can you employ the four steps to transform this pressure into power?

What's Next?

How can you keep from being overwhelmed by urgent work demands? You'll find out next week, when you discover your pace - the gift of grace to run your race.