Grace under Pressure

Have you ever used a coffee press? It is by far one of my favorite ways to make coffee. I wont go into all the details, but one that i want to focus on is the pressing part. Like all coffee is made it takes water...and coffee. The coffee grounds and the water are added together, now if they were never separated i don't know how good the coffee would be, not very good at all cause i have tried. The thing is they are not separated immediately, they have to sit together before anything can come out of it-and then when the separation takes place it takes place under pressure. Then when the process is over, you have one of the most amazing things God has ever made!

I have been studying grace lately. It is crazy to me how many different thoughts there are about it and how many misconceptions about it. My theory, along with any other Bible believer is that thoughts are worthless unless they are tied to scripture and proven through Gods word in context.

Have you experienced grace? The very fact that i was born, and am still alive is a big enough sign to me i have experienced grace along with the millions of other examples i could use. So if you are reading this, i am sure u have experienced grace by some means. Hebrews 13:25 "May Gods grace be with you ALL". So we have established we ALL have grace in our lives. Now we all have gifts, and the word says they are given through grace. Romans 12:6 "In his grace, God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well" . Think about this, Gods gift to the world was Jesus Christ, and it was only by grace that Jesus endured what he went through. Ephesians 1:7 "He is so rich in kindness and grace that he purchased our freedom with the blood of his Son and forgave our sins." The ultimate gift was given through Jesus(salvation), but the full benefits of the gift was not established until Jesus endured the cross. So the gift was given through grace, but the gift was not fully utilized until he endured the cross.(which took grace) I know for a fact this was not easy for Jesus, the fact that he sweated blood praying prayers like Mark 14:36 "Father, please take this cup of suffering away from me. yet i want your will to be done, not mine." This shows me that it took the strength of the father given by grace.

Do you want your gifts to be fully utilized? No matter what you have them, but i am convinced they are never gonna be completely utilized until they have undergone "Grace under Pressure". Its like the coffee press, i could eat the coffee grounds and get something out of it, some energy, maybe a awkward taste and probably not much more. But when mixed with water and put under pressure, something amazing comes out of it. If God is mixing you up right now, don't expect him to pull you out right away, expect for some pressure that's gonna happen. Its in these seasons of mixing and pressure that the greatest gifts are created, world changing gifts. God is gonna give you grace to get through it, 2 Corinthians 12:9 "my grace is all you need."