There’s Purpose in the Crushing

Crushing.

Life has many crushing moments.
Crushed feelings. Crushed dreams. Crushed plans.

The kind of crushing that happens when life presses in… when things fall apart… when God doesn’t explain Himself, and you’re left standing in the tension wondering what exactly is being produced here.

Many years ago, I visited Napa Valley.
Napa Valley is often referred to as the crushing place because of the grape-crushing process that happens during harvest season. It’s where grapes are brought in by the truckload… harvested, sorted, and crushed.

The crushing is intentional.
Necessary.

There is no wine produced without it.

The process itself tells a story…
something must be pressed for something new to flow.

I’ve also spent time in Italy, where I learned more about winemaking. And while they crush the grapes to produce wine, they are careful… deliberate… restrained.

They do not crush the seeds.

Because if the seed is crushed, bitterness is released into the wine. And bitterness ruins the entire batch.

So the winemaker crushes just enough to release what is needed…
but not so much that bitterness seeps in.

The moment the tour guide made that statement, I knew there was a teachable moment there. The winemaking process holds many biblical parallels, but this one stood out in a powerful way.

How often do we assume that if God is allowing pressure, then everything must be getting destroyed?

What if He’s crushing with precision?

What if the pressure isn’t meant to ruin you…
but to reveal what has been inside you all along?

Learning this about the seeds reminded me of a season when I was seeing a naturopathic doctor. We went through extensive testing to understand what was off in my body and what needed healing. As part of that process, my blood was tested against various natural substances to see which produced the strongest healing response.

Of all the things tested… the one that showed the most significant positive effect was grapeseed oil.

Grapeseeds are the very thing winemakers are careful not to crush.
Too bitter for the winemaking process…
yet incredibly powerful for healing.

The part that doesn’t belong in one process still carries purpose in another.

Those uncrushed seeds aren’t discarded.
They’re preserved… gathered… repurposed.

So even what isn’t crushed still has value.

Sometimes God allows the crushing because something new needs to be released.
And sometimes He protects parts of us because they are meant for healing… for us, or for others.

The crushing isn’t random.
And the preservation isn’t accidental.

Jesus understood this deeply.

Isaiah tells us that He was crushed for our iniquities… pressed, wounded, broken… not because God delights in suffering, but because redemption required it.

There was purpose in His crushing.

And yet… bitterness never flowed from Him.

What flowed instead was mercy. Forgiveness. Salvation.

Jesus was crushed… but not corrupted.
Pressed… but never poisoned by bitterness.

That reveals a significant difference between humanity and Christ… the One in whose image we were made, and the One we are called to become like.

How often do our crushing moments produce bitterness?

Scripture tells us that bitterness dries up the bones. Unhealed bitterness doesn’t just affect our spiritual lives… it affects our physical bodies as well. You can often see it on people. A hardness. A heaviness. A life that looks far more worn than the years would suggest.

Anger, hurt, and resentment were never meant to be carried indefinitely. These are the very things we are meant to bring to God… to allow Him to resolve in His way… not hold onto because of our desire for control, retribution, or justice on our own terms.

I wonder how often we interpret pressure as punishment, when it may actually be preparation.

We assume the hard place means God is distant.
We assume the pain means we’re failing.
We assume the crushing means something has gone wrong.

What if it’s the opposite?

What if the crushing is the place where God is producing something good?

And what if He is careful… attentive… intentional… making sure that while you are pressed, the very seed of who you are is not destroyed?

Because bitterness is not what He’s after.
And neither is waste.

You may be in a season where something is being squeezed out of you… old patterns, false identities, misplaced trust, or self-protection that once felt necessary.

And you may also notice that certain things are being preserved… gifts, tenderness, conviction, calling.

Both matter.
Both are purposeful.

You don’t have to fear the crushing.
And you don’t have to force yourself to be harder than you were meant to be.

The Winemaker knows exactly how much pressure to apply.

And Jesus… the One who was crushed for us… knows how to redeem every part of the process.

Even this one.
Even now.