The Teabag Principle

How to make heat and pressure your friend, not your enemy.

If you embrace the glory your Heavenly Father has put within you, nothing can stop you. There’s not enough darkness in the world to extinguish the light God has put within you. Even the darkness of people’s criticism or your own past failures cannot extinguish the light of God’s vision in your heart.

However, success in life requires perseverance, which means “to bear up under pressure.” We may not like the pressure, but it’s an indispensable part of God’s refining process. Perhaps you’ve heard the old saying that people are like teabags. You never really know what’s in them until they’re in hot water.

When successful people are in hot water, they make tea! And when life squeezes them with unexpected pressure, instead of getting angry, they do something constructive with the pressure. They find ways to persevere and actually use the pressure for their own benefit.

Sometimes you don’t get much scent from a rose until you crush it. In the same way, God often will allow you to be put under stress in order to release more of the fragrance of His glory.

Pressure, like fire, is used by the Lord to develop our character and rid of us of impurities. So if you feel like you’re in the fire right now, go ahead and make some tea. Surprise your enemies with the scent of God, and release more and more of His glory as they supply you with the pressure!

There’s no stopping when you understand that pressure can actually be a good thing. Vision is a costly thing, and it will inevitably be tested. Why? Because a vision that is truly from God will always be tested for authenticity. And I believe you’ll pass the test!