Key Bible Verse: Pressed on every side by troubles … we are not crushed … knocked down … we get up again (2 Corinthians 4:8—9). Bonus Reading:Hebrews 12:1—4

The first, most basic instruction one receives when learning scuba diving is to keep breathing. It sounds ridiculously simple, but to forget this can be life threatening. Let me explain.

If you were to breathe in air at the surface, hold it, and then submerge 20 feet or so, your lungs could collapse. That's because the pressure at the surface is much less than the pressure in water 20 feet deep. In the same way, if you breath in air at 20 feet below the water's surface and hold your breath until you come to the surface, your lungs could explode because pressure around you becomes less and less and the air in your lungs expands to equalize. A scuba regulator equalizes the pressure of the air you breathe from your tank to match the pressure in the water around you, but it doesn't help if you don't keep breathing.

What's the spiritual lesson here? It's this: We need God's overcoming power within us to equal the pressure being applied upon us from outside forces. We can't rely upon yesterday's experience with God or we'll collapse. God's plan isn't always to remove outside pressures, but rather to fill us with his overcoming power and strength.

My Response: I'll ask God for increased strength to equal the external pressures I face.

Thought to Apply: The avoidance of legitimate suffering means we also avoid the growth that problems demand of us.