“Listen to my prayer, O God. Do not ignore my cry for help!” (Psalm 55:1 NLT)
All of us our guilty of venting at some time or the other. Sometimes we vent to a friend, a family member, or we find a compassionate member of the family of God to whom we can vent. Sometimes we vent directly to God via our prayers. Venting helps us release stress or aid us in resting from anxiety, but just venting is not enough. Case in point, even when you have a little talk with Jesus, and tell Him all about your troubles, just venting is not enough. You have to listen; be quiet and listen to Him speak softly to your heart. Yes, to use another song line, “He will hear your faintest cry and He will answer by and by.” But needless to say, you definitely have to listen. Another song line says, “On the stormy sea, Jesus speaks to me, and the billows cease to roll.” That ceasing to roll usually involves some action on our part, including changing the way we are thinking in the storms of life.
You see venting only leads to victory when you listen to wise counsel, either from a mature saint, a pastor, a Christian counselor, the Holy Spirit, or directly from the inspired word of the Lord, and after you go further and take action to remedy what has you all tied up in knots. Vent, vacate the place you are at mentally, and the rise up to have victory. Short formula: Vent, vacate, victory! Don’t just talk! Get to the point where you take action, the action that God wants you to take.
Many familiar Bible figures have vented, but the victory over their circumstances came after listening to the Lord, after changing their disposition, and after positioning themselves to do His will. Check out Elijah! Ask Moses! Have a little talk of your own with the woman at the well! Ask the disciples who did not think that there was enough food to feed the multitudes! Do some study and check it out! As you can tell from the closing verses, you can even ask Jesus about venting. He vented in the Garden of Gethsemane, got up and vacated the urging of the human side of His being on earth, and experienced victory on the cross. His victory gave us a way to have victory! Aren’t you glad about it?
Meditate on the short formula: vent, vacate, victory! Make up your mind that you will go further than venting in the future. Have a fantastic Friday as the Lord sees you through yet another day! Be blessed!
“Then Jesus went with the disciples to a place called Gethsemane. He said to them, “Stay here while I go over there and pray.” He took Peter and Zebedee’s two sons with him. He was beginning to feel deep anguish. Then he said to them, “My anguish is so great that I feel as if I’m dying. Wait here, and stay awake with me.” After walking a little farther, he quickly bowed with his face to the ground and prayed, “Father, if it’s possible, let this cup of suffering be taken away from me. But let your will be done rather than mine.” When he went back to the disciples, he found them asleep. He said to Peter, “Couldn’t you stay awake with me for one hour? Stay awake, and pray that you won’t be tempted. You want to do what’s right, but you’re weak.” Then he went away a second time and prayed, “Father, if this cup cannot be taken away unless I drink it, let your will be done.” (Matthew 26:36-42 God’s Word Translation)
Still committed to the climb,
Mark L. King