By the time we are in high school our future is mapped out for us by teachers, parents, peer pressure, and the world. Ads, news, and editorials scream for attention. Only a fraction of our true calling and desires in life gets through.

If we are to experience God’s best and have life more abundantly, we need to shrug off the pressures that bind us to a world we only visit for 80 or 90 years. It’s difficult to explain eternity to someone who has a mind for the world, and the here and now. But eternity exists.

Success in the world will never last. Pressure to perform, to climb the ladder, to please a crumbling world, is a potential catalyst for us to be instrumental in pushing the world into a quicker destruction, and humanity into a sad remnant of what might have been had we followed God’s lead.

When we take the time out of our busy schedules to consider God and his will for our lives, if just for a fleeting moment, we are able to see our lives from a godly perspective. If our hope is in ourselves or in the world or in something other than God, the pressure will build, we will age quicker, die sooner, and have only a fraction of the true prosperity God desires for us. Financial wealth holds no hope for eternity and can be removed from us in an instant.

Jeremiah 29:11 I know the plans that I have for you, declares the Lord. They are plans for peace and not disaster, plans to give you a future filled with hope.

How can we achieve the best God has for us without caving into a stronghold of pressure and at the same time have a hope that lasts for eternity?

5 Biblical tips to stay clear of pressure:

1. Enjoy the blessings God has given you. God has equipped each of us with special gifts. When we use these gifts rightly, according to his will, there is no pressure to perform. God is with us and guiding us in all we do.

John 1:16 For out of His fullness (abundance) we have all received [all had a share and we were all supplied with] one grace after another and spiritual blessing upon spiritual blessing and even favor upon favor and gift [heaped] upon gift.

2. Spend time with God daily and remember him and his will in every aspect of your life and every decision you make. Don’t put God on the back burner, reserved for times of disaster.

Matthew 6:33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

3. Don’t cave in to pressure. Peer pressure and pressure from others without God’s will for you will confuse you and can steer you into the wrong path. It’s never to late to get back in his will and receive his blessings.

1 Timothy 6:9 But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction.

Matthew 18:7 “Woe to the world for temptations to sin! For it is necessary that temptations come, but woe to the one by whom the temptation comes!

4. Check with God first. No matter what you plan to do, God has an answer for you. He has a plan for you. He will not steer you into an area that does not agree with his word, does not have your best in mind, or where he won’t prepare you.

2 Timothy 3:16 Every Scripture is God-breathed (given by His inspiration) and profitable for instruction, for reproof and conviction of sin, for correction of error and discipline in obedience, [and] for training in righteousness (in holy living, in conformity to God’s will in thought, purpose, and action),

1 Thessalonians 5:21 But test and prove all things [until you can recognize] what is good; [to that] hold fast.

5. Wait for God’s answer. Don’t barge forward until you know God’s will. You may be waiting around for awhile, but you will never be forsaken. God will answer and open the doors where he intends for you to be, where you will have peace and joy, and where he can bless you [and sometimes bless others through your life].

Psalm 37:7 Be still and rest in the Lord; wait for Him and patiently lean yourself upon Him; fret not yourself because of him who prospers in his way, because of the man who brings wicked devices to pass.

Isaiah 40:31 But those who wait for the Lord [who expect, look for, and hope in Him] shall change and renew their strength and power; they shall lift their wings and mount up [close to God] as eagles [mount up to the sun]; they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint or become tired.

Written by Christian author, Pola Muzyka.

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