Pressed, Not Crushed: Grit with a Resurrection Voice

2 Corinthians 4:8-9 

“We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.”

Some days don’t feel spiritual. They feel heavy. Life has put its shoulder into your chest and won’t let up. That’s why these words land like a hand on your back:  “Hard pressed… but not crushed. Perplexed… but not in despair. Persecuted… but not abandoned. Struck down… but not destroyed” (2 Corinthians 4:8–9).

Notice what Paul doesn’t say. He doesn’t say, “We’re fine.” He doesn’t say, “This doesn’t hurt.” He tells the truth—pressed, confused, targeted, knocked down.

But then he adds the miracle words: but not. That little phrase is the sound of grit. Not the tough-guy kind that pretends pain isn’t real, but the Jesus kind that keeps breathing anyway. Resurrection-shaped grit doesn’t come from gritting your teeth; it comes from hearing a deeper Voice underneath the noise—the Voice that spoke into a sealed tomb and turned “the end” into “watch this.”

When you feel pressed, that Voice whispers, “Stand up.” When you’re perplexed, it says, “Confusion isn’t the same as defeat.” When you’re struck down, it says, “Down isn’t done.” Grit, in the kingdom of God, isn’t you proving you’re strong—it’s you refusing to believe you’re abandoned. It’s you getting up again, not because you’ve got endless power, but because the risen Christ has laid claim to you.

So if today is a “hard-pressed” day, don’t demand a smile from your soul. Just listen for the resurrection voice: steady, calm, close. And let your next step—small as it is—be an act of defiant hope.

“Lord Jesus, give me that kind of grit today: honest about the pressure, stubborn about hope, and confident that I am not crushed, not abandoned, and not destroyed because You are alive.” Amen.