Standing Firm in the Face of Pressure

Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.  

1 Corinthians 15:58

Back in the early 1990s, it was no secret that President George H. W. Bush was not a fan of broccoli. In fact, his distaste for the vegetable was so strong that he actually banned it from Air Force One. This embroiled the entire nation in a “broccoli discussion,” prompting broccoli growers to dispatch 10 tons of the vegetable free to Washington D.C.

Yet the President reiterated his distaste with gusto:

I do not like broccoli and I haven’t liked it since I was a little kid and my mother made me eat it. And I’m President of the United States and I’m not going to eat any more broccoli. Now look, this is the last statement I’m going to have on broccoli. There are truckloads of broccoli at this very minute descending on Washington. My family is divided. For the broccoli vote out there: Barbara loves broccoli. She has tried to make me eat it. She eats it all the time herself. So she can go out and meet the caravan of broccoli that’s coming in.

Talk about not bending under pressure! In the face of so much criticism and demand to change his ways, the President took a stand and told the world he was sticking to his guns!

If only more Christians today would stand firm like this in the face of the world’s pressure to compromise and relent in their own enthusiasm for the Gospel. So when you’re pressured to give in and water down your faith, remember that if one man can stand firm against a vegetable, you can stand firm for Jesus Christ!

Prayer Challenge

Ask God to help you stand firm for your faith when you feel pressured to back down.

Questions for Thought

Can you think of a time when you were pressured to compromise on what you knew was the right thing to do?

How can you be more intent on standing for your faith even when you might receive some criticism?