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Pressure doesn’t make diamonds it points to it

Psalm 118: 5-6 

“Out of my distress I called on the Lord; the Lord answered me and set me free. The Lord is on my side; I will not fear. What can man do to me?” 

I never understood the phrase ‘pressure makes diamonds’: obviously I understood the context, however I could never relate to it. The phrase suggests that pressure is something to be embraced or celebrated because something good was going to come out of it, but in my life, it was never the case. Every form of pressure that approached me seemed to lead to disappointment. With every exam I put pressure on myself for, were the ones I did the worst on. With every basketball game I put pressure on myself for, were the ones I played the worst. It was an unescapable loop.   

I’m not saying every pressure leads to disappointment, but pressure that is relied on your strength will eventually catch up to you. Our pressure doesn’t make diamonds, it points to our diamond: our treasure that is God.  

When we look at the verse, though we may not explicitly see the word “diamond”, I think there’s still some implicit things we can take from it. David in the book of Psalms is attaching his worries to His solutions: God. Sometimes pressure may lead to “distress”, but I think we should take the same approach David does and call on the Lord. Whatever pressure you may be feeling just know the Lord can set you free. 

We all experience pressure in different formats: whether you feel the pressure from your parents, whether you feel the pressure of the expectations of others, or even you’ve put pressure on yourself, recognise the pressure and give it to God.  

Pressure is unique in the fact that when we receive it, we are at a loss. We let our minds be consumed with thoughts and events that haven’t even happened. Pressure is simply a placed expectation: sometimes that expectation may be overwhelming and others we may be able to embrace, but how much easier would it be if we placed our expectations through God.  

When we crumble under pressure it could be an indication of the stability of our strength. Proverbs 24:10 says “If you faulter in a time of trouble, how small is your strength”, and this isn’t a verse meant to discourage you, but rather an invitation: an invitation to ask yourself what your source of strength is, and where it’s coming from. If it’s anything other than God, then “in a time of trouble”, it will be easy to “faulter”. Let God be your source of strength so that when pressure comes you don’t stumble.  

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