Positive Pressure
There are some childhood memories that never leave us.
One of mine is watching my Nanny standing over her old pressure cooker in the middle of a hot East Texas summer. There was no air conditioning in her little kitchen, only an open window and a fan pushing warm air from one side of the room to the other. She wore her faded apron as she stirred vegetables from the garden and kept one eye on that pressure cooker.
It wasn’t one of today’s electric models with digital displays and preset buttons. This was the old-fashioned kind that hissed and rattled as steam escaped from the weighted regulator on top. Every so often, Nanny would step over, carefully check it, adjust the heat if necessary, and then walk away. She never rushed it. She never tried to force the lid open just because supper smelled good. She knew the pressure wasn’t the enemy. The pressure was part of the process.
Years later, I learned that many foods cooked in those old pressure cookers are best when the pressure is allowed to come down naturally. If you release all the steam too quickly, you interrupt the cooking process. The food may not be as tender as it should be because, even after the burner is turned off, the pressure is still quietly doing its work.
I’ve been thinking about how often we do the opposite with the people we love.
When our children, grandchildren, or friends are under pressure, our first instinct is to make life easier. We step in. We solve the problem. We smooth the rough places. We rescue them from discomfort as quickly as we can.
Sometimes that’s exactly what love requires.
But sometimes, without realizing it, we’re pressing the “quick-release” button on something God is still using.
God never wastes pressure. Throughout Scripture, He used difficult seasons to prepare Joseph for leadership, David for the throne, and Moses for leading His people. James 1:2-4 (NIV) reminds us, “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.”
Notice those words: “Let perseverance finish its work.”
As hard as it is to watch someone struggle, we don’t always help them by removing every challenge. Galatians 6 tells us to carry one another’s burdens, but it also reminds us that each person must carry his own load. There is a difference. A burden is more than someone can bear alone. A load is often the very responsibility God uses to strengthen character, deepen faith, and teach dependence on Him.
Maybe that’s why I still think about my Nanny standing patiently beside that old pressure cooker. She understood something I didn’t appreciate as a child. You can’t rush the process without affecting the outcome.
Neither can we rush God’s work in someone’s life.
Sometimes the most loving thing we can do isn’t to remove the pressure. It’s to pray, encourage, walk beside them, and trust that the Master knows exactly how much pressure is needed—and exactly when it’s time to release it.
Sometimes our greatest act of love is resisting the urge to do for someone what God is trying to do in someone.
