Feeling the Squeeze, and Why It's Good

Pressure, tension, and difficulty in the spiritual life can do some good. Plus, some fun news to share!

The Pain of Pressure

If olives could speak, I don’t think they’d talk about the oil pressing process with glee—being squeezed until their lifeblood seeps out of their skin. It’s the process of bringing greatness from goodness through adversity. The pressure hurts. It’s painful.

The Purpose of Pressure

But it has a clear purpose. The olives are pressed for oil. And that oil would stay hidden inside without the pressure. The same principle applies to human souls. The purpose of pressure in spiritual terms is soul formation. And the pressure in our case is any form of adversity—relational, physical, professional, financial. Any place where you meet resistance, where you feel the pressure, that’s a place for the oil of godliness to push through your skin. But this requires quite a shift in perspective.