PHILIPPIANS 1:23

“But I am hard-pressed from both directions, having the desire to depart and be with Christ, for that is very much better;”

No one likes to be pressured to do anything. At least I don’t. I have to admit that I am pretty stubborn sometimes. If I am told that I have to do something, I might just find a way not to do it. I also get a picture in my head of a full court press in basketball. That is when the team playing defense pressures the team with the ball all the way down the court, hoping to cause a turnover. Pressure isn’t comfortable.

Paul was being “hard-pressed” by the two choices before him. He had such a desire to go on to glory, but he also felt he was still needed on earth. Going to heaven would be more pleasurable and pain free. Staying on earth would not be. He knew that. But he also knew the choice really wasn’t his to make. God would make that choice according to what was best for Paul.

APPLICATION

The word used by Paul for “hard-pressed” is the same word used in Luke 8:45 when Jesus was crowded on the street right before He healed the woman with the issue of blood. People were all over Him. So, Paul is saying in today’s verse that these two possible choices were crowding his mind. He felt the pressure emotionally and spiritually. This can be draining.

Have you ever felt that way? What did you do? We all face decisions, some more than others. Fortunately, my wife and I have learned a few things over the almost four decades of living together. Minor decisions are not worth the effort to worry about. We have both begun to see decisions from an eternal perspective. Do we always choose correctly? Nope! But we sure listen more closely to the Lord when we do make that wrong choice.

God will use the pressures of this life to constrain us or “hard-press” us. All pressure is not bad. You must consider the source of the pressure. If you are feeling the pressure right now, ask the Lord about it. He will let you know if it’s from Him or not. 1 Peter 4:19 says, “Therefore, those also who suffer according to the will of God are to entrust their souls to a faithful Creator in doing what is right.”

Lord, I trust You to pressure me in order to guide me and lead me in the way in which I need to go.