“Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” – Luke 6: 38
Pressed down, shaken together …
Ever wonder why bad things happen to good people or good things happen to bad people? Ever wish that Karma was real, because you’ve tried to live a Godly life and yet suffering seems to be your lot? Wonder how long you’ll need to wait on the overflowing goodness of God? Me too.
Perhaps the overflowing blessings of God come to us after the pressing down and the shaking together. Life can press down on us so intensely it makes us feel like we can’t breathe, don’t even want to breathe. At times, the weight we carry seems too great a load to bear. The pressures of life seem to push aside all of God’s blessings.
At other times our lives are shaken. Our faith is shaken. The circumstances that come at us rock our world, upend our lives, and leave us floundering. We can’t see the blessings through the tears, the whirlwind, or the confusion.
… and running over
God is good. Life is broken. These things are both true. God is healer, redeemer, and the giver of good gifts. His ways are higher than ours, so it reasons that we don’t always recognize the blessings wrapped in suffering. God, whose attributes are invisible, can sometimes gift us with blessings that are imperceivable for a time.
God has pressed down and shaken up my life on more than one occasion. Sometimes I have glimpsed the overflowing blessings in the midst of crisis in the outpouring of love upon me by friends and family. Sometimes I needed to get a little distance in order to recognize the blessings I missed in the moment. Some blessings I suspect we won’t feel overflowing until we are on the other side of eternity.
One thing is certain. God’s word is true. He has abundant blessings for all of his children. So don’t give up if right now you’re feeling pressed down or your life was just shaken up. God might just be allowing this in your life so there is more room for His blessings.
“Hardships often prepare ordinary people for an extraordinary destiny.”
C. S. Lewis
