Crushing.

This 18-wheeler was parked at a local fast food restaurant yesterday while the driver grabbed some lunch.

As I put my car in park to grab a few tacos with my friends, the truck and its contents could not be overlooked.

On that trailer sat multiple cars that had stories to tell…..miles driven…..sights seen….plans revamped……parts replaced…..people reunited….songs blared…..and then, the crushing.

Merriam-Webster defines CRUSHING as “to squeeze or force by pressure so as to alter or destroy structure.”

Chances are, you’ve had moments or seasons when you felt like one of those cars. Miles driven and experiences had…..but then came the crushing.
➡️ The diagnosis wasn’t what you expected or hoped for.
➡️ The job was going so great until they let you know it was over.
➡️ The words “I do” were so real and strong….until later they became “I don’t.”
➡️ The dream of having a baby grew dimmer and dimmer with each negative test result.
➡️ There were so many plans for the future until that person was taken far too soon.

You can add your own statements to the arrows, too. There are lots of situations in our lives that absolutely make us feel as if we are being crushed – just like those once vibrant cars on the back of that truck.

One of the first words in Merriam’s definition is “squeeze.” If I hand you a big, juicy orange, your intention is not to go into the kitchen and “crush” it. Instead, “squeezing” the orange will bring out of it what could never be known had it just sat peacefully on the counter…..not actually being used to produce what it was created to produce. That could only come from the “squeezing.”

Squeezing or crushing…..I guarantee you that there are things inside of you that will never come to fruition without them. I have certainly walked through a long season of crushing and have seen friends do the same – and we are not the same! No one wants to sign up for them, for sure, but we sure are thankful for that glass of orange juice with breakfast! 🍊

I think of Daniel being thrown in the fiery furnace (Daniel 3). He was simply living to honor God and there were people determined to take him out! Squeezing? Yep. Crushing? Absolutely. But through the process, he encountered the Lord in a powerful, real, and perspective-shifting way. Daniel saw the Lord when he was IN the fire….and that helped him know the Lord better when he was on the other side of that fire.

He wasn’t alone.

Neither are you.

Look for Him “in the fire”…..in the “crushing.” Don’t miss His presence….and don’t miss what He is squeezing out of you in the process.

🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼