Do You Need to Vent?
Job 32:19
"Behold, my belly is as wine which hath no vent; it is ready to burst like new bottles."
When I was young, every once in awhile I would walk through the kitchen while my mother was cooking and I saw that she left the lid on a pot cracked open. One day I asked my mother why she did this. She said that the air inside the pan needed a place to vent so that it wouldn't boil over. Once in awhile if my mother didn't keep a close eye on the pan, I would see the contents inside boil over because their was not enough air to vent. They say the same has to be done when fermenting wine. They say that a hole must be kept in the barrel so that the air could vent to keep the barrel from exploding.
A person asked me, "Have you ever come to a point when you felt like you were going to explode." Truthfully, I believe everyone comes to that point sometime in their life. There comes a point when you can only take so much, and if you don't have a way to let it out, you end up exploding. The danger about an explosion is that there is always a fallout after the explosion. An explosion always causes casualties. There must be a way to vent so that you don't have an explosion. Let me give you some suggestions when you need to vent.
First, let me remind you that exploding will hurt your testimony. Proverbs 16:32 says, "He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty; and he that ruleth his spirit than he that taketh a city." God commands you to rule your own spirit. The reason you need to rule your own spirit is because you will hurt your name if you explode. I have watched good people ruin their testimony because they exploded. Christian, you have worked too hard to have a good testimony, don't let your frustration boil over to the point where you explode. After your explosion it may take months, and even years, to repair the damage done to your testimony.
Second, exploding will hurt others. I wonder how many innocent people have been hurt because someone exploded and spewed a bunch of words that they really didn't mean. I wonder how many people have been physically abused because of someone who exploded and didn't control their rage. You must be in control of yourself to keep from exploding. Being "slow to anger" will only happen if you have a way to vent.
Third, the best way to vent is to pour your heartaches and frustrations out to God. Let me remind you that 1 Peter 5:7 says, "Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you." Christian, God really wants you to vent to Him. He doesn't mind when you get alone and vent your frustrations to Him. There have been many times in my life when I would take a walk and unload my frustrations on God. Venting to God kept me from exploding and hurting my testimony and others. God is big enough to handle your frustrations, so vent to Him.
You will face times in your life when you will need to vent. In those times I would advise to take a walk and pour your heart and frustrations out on God. Everybody needs a way to vent and someone to whom they can vent. God is that person. Take advantage of a God Who is willing to let you vent to Him.