“Paul was pressed in the spirit, and testified to the Jews that Jesus was Christ.” Acts 18:5 (KJV)

Pressed – Have you ever had that feeling inside the seemed to push you toward a goal no matter what the circumstances?  Have you ever experienced an inner compulsion that just wouldn’t let up?  It’s like a firm hand pushing you forward or a weight that you just can’t lift from your shoulders.  That’s “pressed in the spirit”.  The word used here is sunecho, a combination word that expresses intense possession.  It means “to have fully” or “to have with compulsion”.

Paul knew what it meant to be constrained.  His life is a demonstration of putting everything aside in order to complete the demands of this compulsion.  He had a mission from God.  Paul rarely considered the consequences of his mission.  He went forward toward the goal no matter what it meant for his physical well-being or for the lives of others because he was pressed by something bigger than himself.

The NIV and the NASB translate this word with “devoted”.  Paul devoted himself entirely to his mission.  He gave himself completely to the inner pressing so that his outward behavior was devoted to the goal.

That’s the kind of devotion that I want, but when I think about all the things I have to do today, I just can’t imagine how I can be completely pressed into the shape God desires and still finish the ordinary tasks of living.  There are so many unimportant but necessary activities and they all interrupt my single-minded focus on the goal of total devotion.  Then I read the rest of the story.  Paul could be entirely focused on his mission only after two other men showed up to take over the daily tasks.  Silas and Timothy arrived.  They took on the burdens that Paul was carrying.  Only then did Paul feel the pressure to devote himself to the task.  Before they came, Paul was busy with work and preaching.  After they came, Paul dropped the work and concentrated on the preaching.  God pressed two other men into service in order to free Paul to be pressed into mission.

That’s the key!  It isn’t individual devotion.  It’s community.  In order to accomplish the mission, others had to come alongside.  Paul needed help and God provided it.  Others had to bear a burden in order for the mission to be accomplished.  Paul couldn’t do it alone.  And neither can we.  Your devotion to God will require the help of others.  Don’t expect to do it all yourself.  Look for God’s helpers to show up.  Then grasp the opportunity.