Maximum Recommended Pressure

Let’s talk about tires. We tend to take the tires on our vehicles for granted. They do the job of attaching our vehicles to the road without any fanfare. They provide the friction so that we can start our vehicles, gain momentum, and stop in a very short distance.

Tires hold up best when kept at the maximum recommended pressure. They will roll more easily over the bumps and be less prone to “flats” and “blowouts” caused by bruising.

Isn’t there an analogy here for those seeking to live the Christian life? Internal pressure balances external pressure. Our earth atmosphere weighs down on us at 14.7 pounds per square inch at sea level. We would all be crushed if the internal cells in our bodies didn’t respond with an opposing internal pressure.

The world, the flesh and the devil constantly create external pressures of human living which require a counterbalance of internal pressure of Christ Life. That is why Christ indwells a Christian – to counteract the pressure of trials and temptations which would “bruise” or “weaken” our “tire tread”. This allows us to roll along and be used by God on the journey of life.

Talk about maximum pressure – the apostle Paul knew what it was. Reading his letters, we learn that pressure was something Paul was acquainted with on a daily basis. But he knew exactly how to handle it. Paul was apparently the first person in history to learn the “mystery”: Christ in you, the hope of glory (Col. 1:27) – and part of our glory is the resistance to damaging pressure around us. In the tire analogy, we may falsely assume that our tire (our human soul) is manufactured BY US strong enough to withstand any external pressure. But even the strongest made tire tread and sidewall can be damaged and fail without keeping the maximum recommended internal pressure.

Paul knew where his maximum recommended internal pressure came from: “… Christ lives in me…I live by the faith of the Son of God…” (Gal. 2:20). By staying in awareness and fellowship through prayer, Paul drew on the power (internal pressure) of Christ within. He didn’t depend on the strength of his tire tread and sidewall.

Sometimes the external pressure is from a circumstance. Sometimes it may be from a person who comes into our lives. And how do we know that God didn’t send that certain one for the purpose of making us stronger? That most difficult individual may be providing an opportunity for us to grow, to “pump up” with Christ.

How are we to triumph as Christians when we face outward pressures that seem almost too great? And what about those tire tread and sidewall weaknesses – the fear of failure, or the fear of aging, or disappointment of financial concerns?

Our tire analogy of “flats” and “blowouts” does not really apply to Christians – only to non-Christians. Why? Weak auto tire treads and sidewalls CAN blowout and fail even with proper internal pressure. But the Christian “soul” will never “blowout” and totally fail God. Christ is there forever to provide balancing pressure within us. He will never let the resistant pressure from within get too low and allow tire failure.

Just as we must routinely check our vehicle tires for pressure and pump them up to maximum recommended pressure (because they all leak somewhat), so a Christian must “pump up” the resistant pressure of Christ within by regular spiritual disciplines of Bible study, prayer and quiet times of fellowship with our Lord.

Christ holds the controls, and only He knows that just-right amount of pressure that will make us able to roll over the bumps more easily, with less bruising and more comfort. Only He knows the true value of maximum recommended pressure, and when that external amount might be exceeded, and He will make a “way of escape” so that we will not be harmed. This meeting of pressure with pressure will give us the strength to endure to the end.

Let me close with the personal testimony of my “tire miracle”. I was in my automobile on the Interstate highway with two small grandchildren in the back seat. I happened to have an 18-wheeler truck on each side of me at full speed when I had a tire blowout. As I fought the car to gain control and keep from sideswiping the trucks, I prayed one of the shortest prayers I know of: “Jesus, save these children!” The car immediately stopped swerving and went straight as an arrow allowing me to turn off the highway to the nearest service station. As I pulled in and got out, I couldn’t believe my eyes. I called an attendant over, he took one look and called his fellow workers over too. The left front tire had a hole in the sidewall as big as a baseball – AND YOU COULD SEE INTO THE TIRE! In fact you would be able to put your fist right into the inner chamber of the tire. There was no way that there could be any internal pressure holding that tire up. By all rights, a hole that big in the sidewall meant total collapse of the tire. But there it was sitting there with the wheel as high as the other three wheels. After they had all examined in amazement and stood back, the tire suddenly collapsed flat as a pancake!

What was going on? Why a miracle? I do know that at that time I had been in a crisis of disappointment with God over a personal matter. Was God demonstrating His love and protection to me to recharge my commitment to Him? After all, other Christians have died in accidents. Was God protecting a grandchild for some future use in life that only God knows about? Was God witnessing Himself to one of the attendants at the service station who needed the testimony?

All I know is that it was a miracle of God that has no earthly explanation. I will always remember and go back to that event in my praise and knowledge of the truth of God.
Remember – keep checking your spiritual tire – maintain maximum recommended pressure.

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