“We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair…” 2 Corinthians 4:8
Have you ever just plain had it? My mom used to put her hand near her eyebrows and say, “I’ve had it up to here!” That phrase is also like saying, “I’m at my breaking point.” What does it mean? Stating the obvious, it simply means a person comes to the place where they give in to stresses or pressures and descend into crisis. Put another way, it’s the time when a person can no longer accept or deal with a situation because of too much difficulty.
Hey, I’m not advocating that this is a great thing or situation to desire finding yourself in. There are many situations where immediate intervention and counseling are not only important but necessary. However, could something good be in the middle of a “breaking point?” I think so.
It took a cumulative effect of many plagues that drove Pharoah to his “breaking point,” where he finally let the children of Israel return to their own land. Of course, he reneged, but you get the idea. Breaking points bring us to the point of decision…usually, a decision that needs to be made. Hannah was deeply loved by her husband Elkanah, but she was barren. His other wife, Peninnah, had children and “rubbed that fact in Hannah’s face.” Discouraged and defeated, she reached her “breaking point.” Finally, we read of Hannah pleading with God so intensely the priest thinks she’s drunk. God heard her prayer of desperation.
Take courage if you find yourself at your “breaking point” today. Make the good decision that perhaps God has been waiting for you to make. Remember what the Apostle Paul said in 2 Corinthians 4:8-10. We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. God knows what you’re going through.
