Sometimes you read a piece of news and it stands out to you.
You know, beyond all the murder, death, kill we are presented with every day…

Apparently there is a small company called Algordanza based in the mountainous southeast of Switzerland, which uses the ashes of dead people to make diamonds as a permanent memento for their nearest and dearest.
For around about $10,000 NZD you can wear your loved one on some jewelry where ever you go.

The technology for making artificial diamonds was first pioneered by General Electric in the 1950s, and mirrors what happens naturally in the earth by subjecting carbon to huge pressure and temperature.

Pressure can do amazing things like turning what looks like basic carbon into a precious stone.
Pressure keeps your car tires up.
Pressure exists in your body as blood is pumped around.

But when many of us use the word ‘pressure’ it is used to express something bad in our lives.
We complain about being under too much pressure, or that we feel under pressure.
I personally think pressure can be good or bad...it is just having the right balance of it.

Just as too much pressure can be bad...too little, and nothing much seems to change.
Take the diamond example.
Add the right amount of pressure and you get a diamond.
Add too little pressure and all you get is a lump of coal.

I think it is normal to have some pressure in your life.
Pressure will actually help grow you, help mould you, help make you the person God planned for you to be.
The Bible uses phrases that reflect this regularly.
Phrases like perseverance doing its work, being blessed when we persevere, that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.

Don’t panic...it is not all bad so to speak.

1 Corinthians 10:13 (message) says
No test or temptation that comes your way is beyond the course of what others have had to face. All you need to remember is that God will never let you down; he'll never let you be pushed past your limit; he'll always be there to help you come through it.

So when you next face some pressure check it out. It may not be all bad...
Pressure in the right amount is good for you. It will change your life for the better.

Trust that God has your life in his hand and he will lead you and grow you.

Something to think about...