The pulverizing, triturating, pressing and grinding of 2020 has prolonged into 2021. Situations have yet to be solved. Many of us are still seeking as to where we should anchor. Our boat is slowly drifting to the shore, where we play it safe with Christ in the shallows, having equal control over our environment and circumstances. Others vision boarding and exercising Habakkuk chapter 2 verse 2 has sunken like the RMS Titanic Ship of 1912. There is no need to plan for the unexpected if we cannot expect the unexpected, right?
The Crossroads
So where to go in the middle of uncertainty? Do we stay, do we go and if we go where do we go? One thing we must acknowledge is that, especially during this unprecedented coronavirus, if the enemy cannot get us to stop, he will get us to go faster. Faster to the point where we neglect the presence of God, marriage, family, friends, relationships and even ourselves. This hasty movement causes built up and undealt with emotions that turn into a ticking bomb. But how long will the bomb tick before explosion?
For those who are not distracted, the enemy tries to discourage you. You are no longer functioning at your optimim, but diminishing instead. Slowly scampering, drawing and battling the deceptive thoughts from the Devil – in isolation – colliding with the thoughts of “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” (Jeremiah chapter 29 verse 11 NIV) You are weighed down by being the anchor for others, being the light of the world, whilst trying to maintain a healthy mental capacity to function.
It’s a fight! A struggle! A war – that feels like an olive being crushed.
The Eaglet Theory
I remember listening to Bishop T.D. Jakes giving the analogy of the crushing that an eaglet undergoes likened to the crushing we undergo in life.
“For an eagle soaring is about flying, for an eaglet, soaring is about falling. If the eagle stirs its nest and the eaglets are pushed out of their nest, is that not crushing? If their food supply is cut off and they are pushed out by their own mother to fall off the side of a cliff, is that not crushing? Why would mama do that to me? Why would mama not feed me?
But in the process of the eaglet falling, flapping its wings in hysteria, it is the thing that crushed the eagles that causes it to soar.”
Be not confused when the crushing proceeds the soaring. All the prophecies, deliverance and jump up sermons are still to be fulfilled, however, “THE CRUSHING IS THE PROCESS AND THE SOARING IS THE PROMISE”. You cannot have the promise without the process.
Joseph could not soar to save Egypt from famine if he did not undergo the crushing of the pit and the prison. Paul could not soar to write books and teach the gospel if he did not undergo the crushing on the Road of Damascus and persecution from his former companions and saints. Ruth could not soar to be the mother from which the descendant – King David (the man after God’s heart) would come unless she endured the crushing of losing her husband and his family. Lastly, Jesus Christ could not soar to be our Saviour and Redeemer, if He neglected the crushing of the Cross and the hardship leading up to it.
Some things God carries you through is not for you, but someone else. The crucifixion was not for Jesus, it was for us. St. Matthew pens in chapter 23 verse 12 that “whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased; and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted.” He humbles you so that you will be compassionate to others.
Good Measure Multiplication
I believe the crushing is for the multiplication and expansion of our lives. Luke chapter 6 verse 38 says, “…good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom.” The more you are crushed, the more you multiply in various ways: spiritually, mentally, physically, financially, emotionally and psychologically.
For those who have been to the countryside or are intrigued by nature, you will see that the upsurge of the carrot or any plant comes from a process of darkness. Covered and buried beyond the soil to be nourished and strengthened – to unlock a new level of shooting above the soil – where it will multiply bountifully. Many times, the earth will be perceived as a ‘sealed death sentence’, but it’s the force at which you are pulled back that propels you forward.
During our season of crushing, let us gird our loins and stay focused. We have generations depending on our decisions now.
To whom much is given, much is required. Your crushing is for the completion of your purpose. Endure your crushing because those who God crushes the most are those He anoints the most.