PRESSED BUT NOT CRUSHED

One of our daughter’s favorite activities is Play-Doh. When she first started trying to press the molds onto the rolled Play-Doh, she needed our help to finish the process. We would guide her hands to make sure she was pressing in the right spot, and then gently add pressure to assist her until the shape she was trying to form finally filled the mold. She eventually learned to do it without our assistance, but still struggled to press the molding all the way through the Play-Doh, especially if the stuff had been sitting out with the lid slightly ajar. But as soon as she’d finish pressing, she’d cut the excess Play-Doh off and then triumphantly lift off the molding and show off her new creation to Mommy and Daddy.

God’s process of shaping us into His image often involves such pressing. Sometimes it’s a short, quick press and other times its an agonizingly long task. Perhaps it has something to do with how malleable we are. One thing is for sure though, the most difficult ingredient of a long, drawn-out experience of suffering is time. A short, quick pain is much more preferable. God, however, will often use the length of our ordeal as a tool to create within us character traits that would never emerge if it wasn’t for the duration of the pressing.

Perhaps Paul experienced something like this. Three times he asked God to remove a thorn from his side. Three times God did not remove it. Instead God said, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may reside in me.”

Here’s the point: Like a careful craftsman, God immediately lifts His hand off the tool and ends the pressing the moment His image is displayed in us. If He lifts His hand any earlier, the image would not be fully formed.

But how are we to respond during that pressing?

The Underwaiter

A typical response might be to grasp for a way out. We become restless so we act in haste to free ourselves of our situation. This often results in dangerous action taken at the wrong time, and in consequence we forfeit the blessings that would have been ours had we waited a little longer. Like a farmer that waits until the corn has fully ripened before picking it, we need to recognize the benefit of waiting. This kind of person I’ll call an underwaiter. The underwaiter needs to be reminded that sometimes God presses very slowly.

The Overwaiter

On the other side of this spectrum is the overwaiter. The overwaiter misses out on God’s blessing because he either doesn’t recognize when he is supposed to act, or he doesn’t have the courage to act. He’s like the farmer who is too unaware or too lazy to go out and pick the fruit once it is ripe, hoping that someone else will do it for him.

There are times when God wants us to move forward and stop waiting. This was exactly His response to the Israelites when they were trapped between the approaching Egyptian army and the formidable Red Sea. When the people began to complain to Moses, he told them “Don’t be afraid. Just stand still and watch the Lord rescue you today. The Egyptians you see today will never be seen again. The Lord himself will fight for you. Just stay calm” (Exodus 14:13–14).

Moses was right. God would fight for them and they were to stay calm. However, they were not to stand still. God spoke to Moses and said, “Why are you crying out to me? Tell the people to get moving!”

They were overwaiting. Rather than moving forward, they stood still and complained about their situation. Overwaiting causes us to believe that our obstacles are too large and our enemies are too strong. But as we approach the obstacles, as we stand against our enemies, our God shows up to fight for us. The initial action of stepping towards the water was the expression of faith that God needed to see before He would come and fight for them.

To the underwaiters God says, “Be still, and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10). To the overwaiters God says, “Get moving!” “I have begun to deliver you!”

Two Tests

How do you know where you are at on this spectrum? I’ve learned to apply two tests. The first is a test of gratitude and contentment. If I’m not thankful to God and learning to rest in His provision, then I tend to march out ahead of Him. I’m underwaiting. The second is a test of peace. Often when I’m overwaiting I find I am gripped with fear and uncertainty which paralyzes me. I may justify my inaction by suggesting that I’m waiting on God. The truth is that I’m plagued by a restless mind. I read James 4:17: “Remember, it is sin to know what you ought to do and then not do it” and I’m convicted by my passivity.

True Waiting

Biblical waiting avoids the two extremes of underwaiting and overwaiting. In a time of intense pressing, wise people know that they don’t fully understand what is happening, because what is happening is unique to that time and still unfolding. Therefore, they avoid extreme confidence (underwaiting) and extreme caution (overwaiting) knowing that either forfeit what they need most during a difficult time, namely, openness, courage, and the ability to make sense of what is happening. The underwaiters resist waiting, because they think they know what they need to know. The overwaiters resist action for fear it will only deepen their insecurities and lead to more pain. And the most dangerous aspect of both responses is that it leads to a focus on deliverance, rather than a focus on the character God is trying to form in them. Both the underwaiters and the overwaiters are then close-minded, meaning neither are in a position to make sound judgments and take the right actions at the right moments for the right reasons.

The ultimate test of true waiting is praise. Just as the Israelites praised God when they finished crossing the Red Sea, those who wait on the Lord and His purposes will produce prayers of thanksgiving, even in the midst of the pressing.

Here’s a prayer I wrote as I reflected on my own time of pressing and how difficult the journey has been..

A Prayer

Lord, Thank you for the road you called us to travel. Thank you for the lessons we’ve learned on that narrow, rugged road, lessons we would have never learned had we stayed on the broad, paved path.

Thank you for the people who tried to warn us and convince us that going down such an uncertain road would be impractical and irresponsible, otherwise we would not have learned to walk in the fear of God and not in the fear of men, and that the most practical and responsible life a Christian can live is one of faith, not of sight.

Thank you Lord for the delays along the way, otherwise we would not have learned active patience and what it really means to wait on you.

Thank you for the enemies we encountered along the way, for those who wanted to destroy us and ruin our reputation, otherwise we would not have learned to love our enemies, to pray for those who mistreat us, and to identify with the One who had no reputation.

Thank you for those who rebuked us and corrected us when we tried to turn around or take an easier path.

Thank you for the friends who showed up at different checkpoints to sit with us, nourish us, bandage our wounds, and help us continue on our way.

Thank you for the times we fell, were hurt, and in response sinned against You and against others, otherwise we would not have learned the healing powers of confession.

Thank you for the flowers that nodded to us along the way, the hospitality of the trees when the sun refused to give up its rays, the storms that purified and purged the dense atmosphere and spoke to us in the thunder and lighting, the streams that refreshed us, the evening sky that soothed us, and the morning sun that greeted us.

Thank you that you did not come to our rescue every time we called on you for help, otherwise we would not have learned endurance.

Thank you for the blisters that formed on the soles of our feet and the burning of our skin in the hot sun, otherwise we would never have been able to identify with the words of Paul, “we do not give up. Even though our outer person is being destroyed, our inner person is being renewed day by day.” (2 Corinthians 4:16).

Thank you for allowing the Evil One and His demons to torment us in our dreams and intimidate us through threats and accusations, otherwise we would not have known how great You are and how feeble he really is by comparison.

Thank you for teaching us that waiting on you is necessary at times, but that you often want us to take a step of faith before you will fight the battle for us.

And thank you that your deliverance is not primarily a deliverance from poverty or hunger or oppression or persecution, but a deliverance from the power of sin at work in us and around us.

Thank you for the unrelenting pressing. Thank you for not lifting your hand until the image was formed. Thank you that another pressing awaits us, if we are willing. Thank you, Lord.