Dealing with Pressure

 

My dad’s mother, Granny Whitely, lived next door to us when I was growing up.  She was a lot of fun and a wealth of knowledge.  Granny had a big garden and canned the produce in the late summer and early fall.  She had a big pressure cooker that held seven quart jars of canning vegetables.  She explained to me how that water boiled at 212° and would bubble but could go no higher … that is unless it was pressurized, and that was the purpose of the pressure cooker.  Under pressure, it could go to 240°, cook much quicker, and kill bacteria.  Granny’s pressure cooker had a pressure relief valve that kept the pressure within a safe limit.  It would wobble and hiss as steam was released during cooking.  1 cubic inch of water heated expands to 1700 cubic inches of steam, which is, in essence, an explosion!  As steam is generated in the pressure cooker, it must be vented to keep the device safe.  Hey, pressure in your life must be vented or you will blow up too!  The cares of this life, challenges at work, the worries about your children … all pile up if you don’t offload your pressures onto the Lord.  Peter said in I Peter 5:7, “Casting all your care upon him (Jesus); for he careth for you.”  Hey, why not roll your burdens off onto the capable shoulders of Jesus Christ?!  After all, Jesus can handle all the problems that you give to Him!  Yes, He can!  And yes, He will!