A Cracked Pot: Pressed But Not Crushed!

Wednesday, July 14, 2021

Pressed But Not Crushed!

Queen's Day Crush!

"We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair." (2 Corinthians 4:8 NLT)

One of my favorite daily devotions, Streams in the Desert by Mrs. Charles E. Cowman, directed me to this Scripture today, and there immediately sprang to mind a memory from some twenty years ago. Bill and I had traveled to the Netherlands in Spring expressly to see the tulips in bloom. We were staying in Amsterdam, as the famed Keukenhof Gardens were just a short bus ride from there, and we could enjoy the sights of the city in addition. Unbeknownst to us, our trip encompassed "Queen's Day," which is comparable to our Fourth of July celebration, but even more raucous, as you can imagine in this extremely worldly city.

On that day, of course, we would not hide in our modest hotel room just to avoid a harmless crowd, and so we joined the fun on the streets. We had had lunch in a small Greek cafe along a canal, observing the passing crowds and barely moving cars in the streets, boats filled with revelers literally forming a solid bridge across the canal. We could feel more than hear the throbbing of the pervasive "techno" music even inside the restaurant. We at last decided to venture out to cross over a footbridge to the other side of the canal, and almost without warning we were truly crushed in an immovable mass of humanity, people trying to move in all directions and completely gridlocked. My feet literally left the ground as the crowd carried me forward, almost breathless and definitely helpless. I remember clinging to Bill's shirt with two fingers, worrying mainly about the big camera around my neck, trying not to panic. And then suddenly we were loosed from the grip of the crowd and I just stood there shaking, taking in big gulps of air, and clinging to Bill in relief.

Have you ever had days, weeks, months, or even years like that? Times when you can't see a way out of the hard place and all you can do is breathe, and even that with difficulty? I know I have, and I'm sure most of you have, too. It is times like these when I know that I can, I MUST, reach for my Bible to study Paul, or Job, or turn to my favorite Psalms of comfort to put my troubles in perspective. At the very worst of times, I simply sit in quiet contemplation of my dear Savior, visualize the last days of His short life, and remind myself He did it all for me. The pain and punishment I deserve, He did NOTHING to deserve, yet He took more than I can ever imagine... for me, for you.

And so I keep breathing, knowing that "our momentary light affliction is producing for us an absolutely incomparable eternal weight of glory." (2 Corinthians 4:17 CSB)