Press or Pressure?

Press or Pressure... Often times, men of God, it is so easy to feel inadequate when confronted with life's speed bumps. We look at the bills due, then the bank account, we look at our children's grades, then our work schedule, we look at the situations in front of us and determine that "this mountain is too high to climb". Have we ever evaluated our minds & seen the flaws with us? In Acts 14:21 MSG version, "After proclaiming the Message in Derbe and establishing a strong core of disciples, they retraced their steps to Lystra, then Iconium, and then Antioch, putting muscle and sinew in the lives of the disciples, urging them to stick with what they had begun to believe and not quit, making it clear to them that it wouldn't be easy: 'Anyone signing up for the kingdom of God has to go through plenty of hard times." We realize that Paul himself, did not have a life so smooth that he did not have to face any trials or persecutions, but rather upon doing the work of Christ, they grew in occurrences, why do we think this was? Faith! What voice are we listening to when our struggles come, the voice of the deceiver who discourages us into believing that due to our inadequecies "we're not good enough" or the voice of our daddy proclaiming "it's already taken care of!". It's time for us to lead our families, neighborhoods, and friends by first identifying the spiritual, then being confident in our victory.