Let It Go
Today’s scripture selection: Ecclesiastes 7-8
Key verse: Ecclesiastes 7:9
The wisdom we find in the book of Ecclesiastes covers a lot of territory; much of it goes right to the heart of some very “vexing” problems.
In fact, that’s how one translation addresses one particularly pesky problem:
“Be not hasty in thy spirit to be vexed, for vexation rests in the bosom of fools.” (American Baptist Publication Society)
How about it – have you felt “vexed” lately?
If you aren’t sure – here’s another translation of that same passage:
“Do not be quick to show resentment; for resentment is nursed by fools.” (New English Bible)
Ah, there – that’s clearer.
Resentment can be a real problem at times; even a deadly one.
It’s when you find yourself on “slow burn” – not exactly openly blowing your stack – but not releasing yourself from the anger either.
You mull something over in your mind – over and over again. You think about how “unfair” someone has been; how “thoughtless”; how “cruel.”
But the real cruelty is the one that is self-inflicted as you open the old wound over and over again, refusing to let healing come.
I think the Scriptures are right. That kind of thing is something only fools nurse and keep alive. Because, as one wise old Doc told his patient who was suffering from an ulcer: “It’s not what you are eating that’s the problem; it’s what’s eating you!”
So go ahead. Let it go. Turn the hurt and anger over to God. And move on. You may find yourself a whole lot less “vexed.”
And a whole lot healthier too.
Prayer: Lord, help me to give up the dark feeling of being wounded – and move on – to heal. AMEN.
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By Paul Simrell
The Reverend Paul W. Simrell has served for over thirty years in a variety of congregational and institutional settings. He is a recognized minister with standing in the Virginia region of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in the United States and Canada and is nationally endorsed by the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) for specialized ministry in both pastoral counseling and chaplaincy. Ordained in 1982, he has served congregations in Kentucky, Texas, Florida, and Virginia. He currently serves as the pastor of Elpis Christian Church, a small, historic congregation located just a few miles west of Richmond, Virginia. Elpis is the Greek word meaning “expectant hope.” He also serves on the associate clinical staff of the Virginia Institute of Pastoral Care, Richmond, Virginia, both as a pastoral counselor and a ministerial assessment specialist, specializing in executive, clergy and relationship coaching. He is a graduate of the University of Florida and Lexington Theological Seminary and has done advanced clinical training in chaplaincy and pastoral counseling at the University of Kentucky Medical Center in Lexington, Kentucky, Children’s Medical Center and Parkland Hospital in Dallas, Texas and the Virginia Institute of Pastoral Care in Richmond, Virginia. He is a Certified Pastoral Counselor, an ACPE Practitioner, and a member of the American Association of Christian Counselors. He is a Certified Facilitator of the Prepare-Enrich relationship assessment and skills-building program and served as a volunteer chaplain for over twenty years with the CJW Medical Center campuses in Richmond, Virginia. His avocational interests include playing the piano and drawing. He is very happily married to his wife Elizabeth Yeamans Simrell, a free-lance writer, who is also a Certified Facilitator for the Prepare-Enrich program.
Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter. — Izaak Walton
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