Types of crushing

So the other day, I wrote about being crushed by the Lord, and how it is for our ultimate good.  Read that entry here: Stop, Jesus! You're crushing me!

But then today, I had another revelation about crushing.  And I need to write about it again because I want you to know about the different types of crushing and how to tell the difference between them.

When the Lord crushes us, He is after something in us that He wants to expose in order to heal or get rid of.  It is a painful process, but ultimately, like removing a splinter from under our skin, it is for our good.

However, when others try to crush us in order to lord themselves over us via power, manipulation, or control, that is bad.  

Now that may seem an obvious statement.  And perhaps you can perceive when this is happening to you.  I cannot always tell the difference.

When you see all as coming either from, through, or allowed by God's Sovereign hand, it's easy to write everything off as "teachable moments," and try to learn from them, grow, etc.

But then it dawned on me.  The "crushers" in Jesus' life when He walked this earth, He had no patience for!  And He didn't mince words, either, when it came to dealing with the hatred and manipulations of the Pharisees who were ever trying to trick, trap, and destroy him.  He called them a brood of vipers!  Pretty strong language!

Jesus didn't sit there and say, "Well, I guess My Father is using this to teach Me humility," or some such thing.  Nonsense!

Jesus' perception of a situation was always spot on - it had to be because He was omniscient God! So He knew what His enemies were up to every time.

What am I getting at?

There are those who may come across as "friends" or friendly toward us, but their motives are pure evil.  Sometimes, this is crystal clear to me - I see through the BS.

But sometimes, when it is truly someone who claims to love me, the lines get blurred, the discernment is harder to focus.

When anyone, I don't care who they are to you, tries to keep you down, hold you back, and the like, for their own selfish purposes, that is the bad kind of crushing.  Why don't we always see it?  Because they mask it as "caring" or "protecting" or some other such masquerade.

When bullies in your life threaten you, don't back down to them!  Especially when you have the power of Almighty God in you!

I know many others who are a thousand times stronger than me in the flesh - they are bolder, stronger, pushier, what have you.  But in the Spirit?  Jesus has shown me mighty in Spirit over and over again toward those who would just as soon get rid of me.  My enemies would have made minced meat out of me if not for Christ in me and His power at work in me and His favor toward me!

Takeaway?  Pray for discernment.  The devil doesn't announce himself - he comes at you through sneaky ways that seem "good" but are for your ruin (think Eve and the fruit!).  He will even try to use those closest to us at times, so be on the alert!

When the Lord crushes us, it is for our good, to ultimately make us more fruitful, bring us closer to Him.

When people try to crush us out of their insecurities and messed-up-ness, it will not feel exactly the same way.  Do not mistake it as a way that God humbles you.  God's desire through His crushing is to eventually raise us up!  God is an Encourager of the highest sort!

God never lords His Lordship over us (thankfully!), but those who are selfish will try to "lord" themselves over us.  Stand your ground in Christ!

Thank You, Lord Jesus, that all You do is always in our best interest.  So when You crush us, though that hurts, too, it is for our ultimate good.  Thank You for that!  Give us crystal clear discernment, Lord, as to when the other kind of "crushing" is at work, through the hands of the likes of the Pharisees, whose father was the devil!  And help us stand strong in Your grace, power, and might!  In Jesus' Name.  Amen.