“If words are many, sin is not absent. He who holds his tongue is wise.” Proverbs 10:19
Hurtful words spoken in anger. I caught them, felt the pain of them, and believed them. “I am a failure as a wife, a mother, a Christian.”
And yet in my heart, I knew I had done my best. I knew I had lived well. Then why can’t she remember the good I’ve done? I stewed.
Feeling desperately hurt, I sought counseling.
“They are words of anger spoken into the wind,” my pastor said “Don’t catch them. Don’t let them lodge in your mind to hatch into self-pity. Don’t personalize them. If you do, you’ll become frozen into a stance of hurt. Bitterness will grow in your heart and poison you. Let them go. Don’t even repeat them. They are irrational words spoken in haste.
“Flying words hurled out of an angry mouth—counter them with a word from God,” says Amy Carmichael.
“But shouldn’t I set the record straight?” I asked.
“Nothing you say at this point will impress her,” the pastor said. “It will only make it worse. A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger” (Proverbs 15:1).
“Let God vindicate you: ‘do not take revenge, for it is written: It is mine to avenge; I will repay,’ says the Lord. ‘Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good”
(Romans 12:19, 20).
Is there someone you need to forgive? Some angry, hurtful words you need to let go? Ask God for the grace to let go and to trust Him to make it right.
From experience I know it’s the only way to live free.
Dear Father, I want my words to be words of healing, not of hurt. I want to remember that ‘kind words are like honey—sweet to the soul and healthy for the body”
(Proverbs 16: 24 NLT)
