Breathe It Out!

Daily Devotional – Friday, January 19, 2023
Also, do not take to heart everything people say…
Ecclesiastes 7:21 (NKJV)

At the height of heated election campaigns, a politician told a crowd, “Do not keep the anger and insults you hear in these campaigns in your heart. Rather, store resentment in your lungs so that you can breathe it out as soon as you imbibe it.” It makes sense, doesn’t it?

Exhale It

Imagine all the nasty and mean things people have ever told you and said about you. Remember the pain you carried for days as you wondered why people could be so malicious and callous? Maybe you became bitter and angry. Probably, you contemplated revenge. With time, though, you overcame the pain, and it receded into the past.

Imagine that you had breathed out the pain as soon as the other person caused it. You could have saved yourself a lot of mental aguish, and that is what King Solomon intended when he wrote, “Also, do not take to heart everything people say.” (Ecclesiastes 7:21). Solomon explains that people are prone to speaking without thinking about the impact of their words. You have done it to others, too (verse 22).

Breathe it Out!

Some people use their words deliberately to hurt you. Ignore them. Others are just not in control of their tongues and speak carelessly. Do not waste your time on them. Decide to ‘store the pain in your lungs’ and breathe it out immediately. Now focus your thoughts on the one who says, “Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love. Therefore, with lovingkindness I have drawn you.” (Jeremiah 31:3). What God says about you is what matters.

Prayer
Almighty Father, help me not to take to heart everything people say and instead focus on the unconditional love You have for me.