Daily Devotion

Pressure

"Pharaoh's cup was in my hand, and I took the grapes and pressed them into Pharaoh's cup and placed the cup in Pharaoh's hand."  Genesis 40:11

My sister in ministry (and in life) sent me a message a little over a week ago mentioning depression.  I felt the need to write about this, as I have been graciously favored by God to be delivered from depression a few times now.  Clinically defined, depression is a mood disorder in which feelings of sadness, loss, anger, or frustration interfere with everyday life for a long period of time.

Its funny to me how one word can have so many meanings and interpretations.  Look at the root word here--press.  To my surprise press has many means, as both a noun, a transitive and an intransitive verb.  To press as mentioned above implies pressure applied to something.  Press also means to distress or trouble. To press can also mean to keep pushing, have courage, and to persevere.  The prefix de which can mean down, away from, off, entirely, or reverse the action of.  The suffix ion means the act or condition or result of.  Combining these gives us de-press-ion which means the condition of being troubled entirely--or in whole, as a depression negatively affects your mind, body, and spirit man.

Pressure and time are the two ingredients needed to create some of the most beautiful precious jewels ever seen by the human eye.  Diamonds are nothing but carbon, which makes up common coal, pressurized over time.  The same process creates rubies, emeralds, sapphires and alexandrite, some of which have values that are out of this world.  But the great jewel is what you become when you endure depressing situations and circumstances with God as your anchor.  As said in 1 Peter 1:7, "These have come so that your faith--of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire--may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed."  Keep pressing!!  I love you as always!


"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