When You Get Squeezed

Verse: 1 Peter 3:8
Finally, all of you, be like-minded, be sympathetic, love one another, be compassionate and humble.

Series: 1 Peter

Devotion
Ready for a quick quiz to get your day started? Here we go:

• When you squeeze a ketchup bottle, what comes out?
• When you squeeze a toothpaste tube, what comes out?
• When you squeeze a bottle of super glue, what comes out?

OK, here’s hoping it’s not SO early that you got any of those wrong. Now, imagine if when you were about to eat your hotdog, you squeezed the ketchup bottle and TOOTHPASTE came out. Yum! Or if you were about to brush your teeth, and super glue came out (some parents are like, hey – that’s not a bad idea for my little one).

OK you get the point.

So when you get squeezed, what comes out? When someone triggers you, or offends you, or rubs you the wrong way, what comes out? When someone disagrees with your ideas, what comes out? When someone in your household snaps at you, or is impatient with you, what comes out? When you don’t get your way (this is my personal crucible), what comes out?

Now read this verse again: “Finally, all of you, be like-minded, be sympathetic, love one another, be compassionate and humble.” When Peter wrote this, do you think he meant, “only when everything is going well be like-minded, etc?” Probably not. In the context he’s just written about several very stressful relationships: citizens and government, masters and servants, husbands and wives…and then he says “Finally all of you…..” 

When I get squeezed here’s what can sometimes come out of me—irritation, short responses, loud sighs. Or if it’s really bad—internal anxiety and external angry outbursts.

How can we live this verse out when it is so difficult? Here’s something I try: Stop. Breathe/Pray. Respond.

First I try to Stop. Don’t react. Just wait. Don’t speak, don’t write that text immediately, don’t shoot off that email, don’t retweet or comment or click the angry face button. Then Breathe/Pray. Take a deep breath (or 10) and pray and ask God to calm your nervous system down, and to give you wisdom. Walk away for as long as it takes to find that you aren’t REACTING anymore, but you are being led by the Spirit to RESPOND. Then Respond – in line with this verse. Respond in love, humility, and compassion.

Guys, we need to be different from the world. We need to shine like lights. Our demeanor matters. Our words matter. Our online presence matters. How we treat people matters. Let’s make other people a priority, and Stop, Breathe/Pray, Respond when we get squeezed.

Prayer
Help me God! I need your help. Please help me to learn the art of pausing when I get offended or upset, so I can respond in love and humility.

Author: Christian Dunn