The pressure in my life has been rising for some time now. We all feel it. Some seasons it’s more intense than others. Some pressure can be good because it can shape and mold us into the person we are called to be. The problem with too much pressure is that it has the potential to steal our peace.
This morning as I had my quiet time I told the Lord I felt like I might erupt if the pressure doesn’t let up soon. I immediately felt him say, “Rachael, will you exchange that pressure for my peace?”. Of course, I said, “YES! But please show me how!”.
The Lord walked me through a few simple steps to exchange my pressure for his peace. While my circumstances haven’t changed, the peace I feel in the midst of them is overwhelming.
Follow these 3 simple steps to exchange your pressure for His peace:
Release.
We begin by releasing our pressures in the form of writing them down. I started by writing the word PRESSURE in all caps at the top of my journal. Then beneath it, I wrote “Exchange Pressure for Peace“. I proceeded to write every area of my life where I feel pressure. The ones I wrote today (and could be different tomorrow) were: my body, my performance, mom, wife, friendships.
I was shocked to see all the things in my life where I feel pressure. No wonder I feel like I am a volcano waiting to explode at any moment!
Receive.
Now that we have written down our pressures, ask for and receive a new word from the Lord in those areas. After I wrote down every little thing I feel pressure about (yes, even down to the wrinkles around my eyes and gray hairs that decided to show up this year), I asked God to replace the pressure I felt by giving me a word that ushered in his peace.
Here are the new words he gave me:
- My Body: EMBRACE
- My Performance: STOP PERFORMING, START BEING
- Motherhood: LOVE THEM & CALL OUT THEIR GIFTS (don’t worry about the rest)
- Wife: LOVE HIM & EMBRACE THE GIFT OF MARRIAGE
- Friendships: BE REAL (no pun intended on my Real Talk with Rachael podcast. Just the reminder to be real with my friends so we can have a more intimate relationship)
Restore.
Now that we have released pressure and received new words, we must restore anything that was stolen while we gave pressure the right to be the god of our world. Misdirected pressure not only robs peace but it destroys relationships.
I had to talk to my husband and ask him to forgive me for letting pressure rob me of deep intimacy in our relationship. When our kids get home from school I owe them an apology too. Maybe God will ask you to let go of some things on your “to do” list so you can be more present in real life.
God loves to restore everything. Jesus is the prince of peace and nothing is too big for him to restore.
I pray this post gives you hope and takes a weight off your back. I know I feel much lighter after doing this activation today!
The pressure is off.
Love,
Rachael Joy
P.S. Have you listened to the first episode of Real Talk with Rachael yet? I would love to hear from you if so!
