1 Samuel 30:6
“And David was greatly distressed; for the people spake of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved, every man for his sons and for his daughters: but David encouraged himself in the LORD his God.”
Everyone will face pressure from people, and how you respond to the pressure determines God’s blessings upon your life. Sadly, many who face these pressures respond in a adverse manner which produces negative results. Three stories in the Scriptures come to mind on responding to pressure.
The first story that comes to mind is when Aaron faced the pressure of the people to make them gods. Moses had been up on the mount for forty days receiving the commandments of God, and the people were so worldly that they wanted a god to worship. Aaron responded by totally leaving the God Who delivered them from Egypt.
Sadly, one of the responses of people when faced with the pressure of the world is to quit on God. Just because those around you are pressuring you to quit on God doesn’t mean that is right. You cannot allow the pressures of the world to force you to quit on God.
The second story that comes to mind is the story of Saul when facing the pressure of the people because Samuel had not come at the appointed time. Saul, instead of standing for right, compromised and performed the sacrifice against the commandment of the LORD. He allowed the pressure around him to react with spiritual compromise which cost him his kingdom.
Many people have spiritually compromised because of the pressure of worldly Christians. Friend, you cannot let the pressures of those around you force you to compromise truth. Truth must always be the focus you keep your eyes upon. Compromising to keep people happy will only cause displeasure with God. You must never compromise truth just to relieve the pressure of the crowds.
The third story is in the verse above when the men spake of stoning him because they were grieved for their wives. David responded correctly by running to the LORD for help. He completely understood that the only One Who could help him through this pressure was the LORD.
When faced with pressures from the world to change, your only response should be to run to the LORD. It is this response that determines your worthiness for future usefulness to God. Running to the LORD may not be the easiest response, but it is the only response that brings positive returns.
How do you respond when faced with the pressures of those around you? Have you quit on God because you are afraid what others may think of you? Have you compromised what you believe so that you can appease the crowds around you, or have you run to the LORD to be encouraged? When you look at the results of these three reactions, one lost his kingdom, the other lost his chance at God’s perfect will and the last was promoted to sit on the throne, you can see that how you respond to pressure will determine which of these three results you will receive. My prayer is that you run to the LORD for encouragement in times of pressure so that the He can promote you to the throne He has for your life.