May 18

"I was crushed...so much so that I despaired even of life, but that was to make me rely not on myself, but on the God who raises the dead." (2 Cor. 1:8, 9)

"Pressed out of measure and pressed to all length;

Pressed so intensely it seems, beyond strength;

Pressed in the body and pressed in the soul,

Pressed in the mind till the dark surges roll.

Pressure by foes¹, and a pressure from friends.

Pressure on pressure, till life nearly ends.

"Pressed into knowing no helper but God;

Pressed into loving the staff and the rod.

Pressed into liberty where nothing clings;

Pressed into faith for impossible things.

Pressed into living a life in the Lord,

Pressed into living a Christ-life outpoured."

The pressure of hard places makes us value life. Every time our life is given back to us from such a trial, it is like a new beginning, and we learn better how much it is worth, and make more of it for God and man. The pressure helps us to understand the trials of others, and fits us to help and sympathize with them.

There is a shallow, superficial nature, that gets hold of a theory or a promise lightly, and talks very glibly² about the distrust of those who shrink from every trial; but the man or woman who has suffered much never does this, but is very tender and gentle, and knows what suffering really means. This is what Paul meant when he said, "Death worketh in you."

Trials and hard places are needed to press us forward, even as the furnace fires in the hold of that mighty³ ship give force that moves the piston⁴, drives the engine, and propels that great vessel⁵ across the sea in the face of the winds and waves. --A. B. Simpson.

"Out of the presses of pain,

Cometh the soul's best wine;

And the eyes that have shed no rain,

Can shed but little shine."

　 五月十八日

“我们……遭遇苦难，被压太重……甚至连活命的指望都绝了。自己心里也断定是必死的，叫我们不靠自己，只靠叫死人复活的神。”（林后一：8/9）。

压力之重，似乎无法估计，

压迫得非力之所能抗御，

压在身上，压在心头，

如在浪中颠覆，神昏目眩。

敌人的压力，也有友人的压力，

压上加压，压得你喘不出气。

从压力中，认识了唯有主可救你，

从压力中，知道爱他的竿和杖，

压力使你无靠中得自由，

不可能之时有了依仗，

压力使你与主融成一片，

生命在他恩典里滋长。

　　遭遇苦难，常使我们重视生命。每一次死里逃生之后，我们觉得这真是一个新的开始，该怎样多事神事人。遭遇苦难，也使我们能谅解、同情别人的苦难。

　　人们总常喜欢批评别人没有信心，逃避试炼；但是曾经苦难的人决不如此，他知道，懂得，别人所遭遇的苦是什么。保罗说：　“死在我们心中发动，生却在你们心中发动”（林后四：12）

　　苦难是催逼我们前进的必需品，正如船中的炉火是使船驶行的必需品一般。——宣信

从苦痛的压迫中，

榨取出灵魂的佳酿，

没有泪珠的眼睛，

如何反映出晶光明亮？

1 foes   

敌人，仇敌( foe的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• They steadily pushed their foes before them. 他们不停地追击敌人。
• She had fought many battles, vanquished many foes. 她身经百战，挫败过很多对手。

2 glibly   

adv.流利地，流畅地；满口

参考例句：

• He glibly professed his ignorance of the affair. 他口口声声表白不知道这件事。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• He put ashes on his head, apologized profusely, but then went glibly about his business. 他表示忏悔，满口道歉，但接着又故态复萌了。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

3 mighty   

adj.强有力的；巨大的

参考例句：

• A mighty force was about to break loose.一股巨大的力量即将迸发而出。
• The mighty iceberg came into view.巨大的冰山出现在眼前。

4 piston   

n.活塞

参考例句：

• They use a piston engine instead.他们改用活塞发动机。
• The piston moves by steam pressure.活塞在蒸汽压力下运动。

5 vessel   

n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管

参考例句：

• The vessel is fully loaded with cargo for Shanghai.这艘船满载货物驶往上海。
• You should put the water into a vessel.你应该把水装入容器中。