We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.

2 Corinthians 4:8-9

What a powerful reminder of the refining power of God!

Many of the finest things in life require time under pressure. For example, consider the immense heat and pressure it takes to create a diamond. The process is so time consuming that natural diamonds are among the rarest and most expensive jewel sought after by mankind. Before the pressing and heating though, they were just lumps of minerals, no more valuable than common fill dirt or a pebble in your shoe.

The pressing may not be pleasant at the time, but the end result is always worth it.

As May is graduation month, all across the nation high school seniors, including my own middle child, are launching out into the next phase of their lives filled with uncertainty, but also with hope. Soon, if they’ve not discovered it already, they’ll hit the workforce or the college classroom or both and realize that adult life has far more pressure than adolescence.

As the adults in their lives, we may be tempted to jump in and relieve some of that pressure, do some of the work, take care of some of the stressors for our young people. But this morning I am reminded that it is the pressure that creates the finest oil and the clearest diamonds.

When we remove God’s refining pressure from our children’s lives, they do not grow as God intends (Job 5:17-18).

When we swoop in to relieve the pressure, we place ourselves in the way of the Master Craftsman and His grand design for their lives.

Parents and Caregivers, let us remember that our role in the lives of our young adults is to give godly counsel and to pray and to encourage (Proverbs 22:6).

Their role now is to do the work of following the Lord and making the decisions that honor Him (2 John 1:6).

It will be tough to watch the process just as it was a challenge for our parents to do so and their parents before them, but the increased pressure in the lives of young adults is necessary.

God did not design us to be eternal adolescents (Hebrews 5:12-14).

We are His children, but we are not meant to remain children on this earth. We are meant to do His work as His hands and feet and He deserves our best that He might be glorified through our lives. Our best requires times of great pressure more often than not. Do not fear it. Do not seek to circumvent it. Stand in faith and witness the marvels that God will create from our youth! Watch as He creates the finest oils and clearest diamonds from their lives!

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