HANDLING THE PRESSURE
The ocean is an incredible part of our world. It is beautiful and essential for life. Yet, it is also vast and mysterious. For ages people have wondered what was on the ocean floor. On August 15, 1934, Otis Barton and William Beebe came closer than ever before. On that day they descended to a depth of 3,028 feet into the dark ocean, a record which remained unbroken for 15 years.
The way they achieved this was through a spherical deep-sea submersible called a bathysphere. This submersible was made with very thick cast steel in order to handle the remarkable pressure at such depths. The water pressure is so great that no person can survive without protection.
The most amazing part of this journey was when they went down and then turned on the lights. What did they see? Fish! These fish were just roaming around as free and careless as ever. How could the fish do this? They simply compensate for the pressure outside by having equal pressure on the inside. These fish did not need thick cast steel to swim around; they were just made that way by God.
In our world there is an unfair amount of pressure on people. This pressure comes in all forms from almost every angle. Sometimes the pressure of this life is truly enough to break someone. So, how can we handle such pressure? The answer is not to become thick-skinned. It’s not to become cold and unfeeling. The way to handle the pressure of this life is to compensate with the right power on the inside.
Psalm 27:1 says, “The LORD is my light and my salvation; Whom shall I fear? The LORD is the defense of my life; Whom shall I dread?”
Isaiah 41:10 states, “Do not fear, for I am with you; Do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God, I will strengthen you, surely I will help you, surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.”
There are countless Scriptures that talk about the strength we have when God is in our life. Truly there is no greater way to handle the outside pressure than to have God’s great power working within us.
–Brett Petrillo