Hard-pressed
Those things that the enemy means for evil, strongholds, trials, difficulty: they are all able to be turned on their head by the resurrection power of Jesus. Instead of harming us, they become the very things which allow us to intercede for the ones He has sent us to. We beat weapons into plowshares as we learn what it is to worship in spirit and in truth, how to overcome, and to have joy in all circumstances.
“We are hedged in (pressed) on every side (troubled and oppressed in every way), but not cramped or crushed; we suffer embarrassments and are perplexed and unable to find a way out, but not driven to despair.”
We may be hard-pressed on every side, but it only produces the oil of His presence in our lives, which overflows and anoints the ground around us. Tough, rocky soil turns smooth and loose, ready for plantings of righteousness. There is really nothing that He has not or cannot overcome. We rest in the very shelter of the Almighty, in the cleft of the Rock.