Freely Speaking Audio Devotion

Welcome to Freely Speaking, an OHSOFREE devotional ministry where we share our hearts and trust God for transformation.

Karen Wardle shares her thoughts on how to experience peace in your mind when relationships are difficult.

Our scripture is found in Mark 12:30: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength” (Mark 12:30 NIV).

Have you ever witnessed the breach of a levy or dam when the water builds up too high? It usually starts small with just a trickle of water, then quickly erodes until the flood bursts, sweeping everything away. Isn’t conflict in relationships just like this?

Underlying and often unacknowledged feelings build up until they can no longer be contained. Then, with just a few words and angry glances, the feelings burst into an explosive back-and-forth conflict where there might have been peace just a few moments before.

The book of Proverbs was written by King Solomon, whom the Lord God had blessed with exceptional wisdom. In Proverbs 17:14 (ESV translation), King Solomon writes, “The beginning of strife is like letting out water, so quit before the quarrel breaks out.”

Isn’t this fitting?

I grew frustrated over a financial situation in one such quarrel I had early in my marriage. The frustration festered and grew until I felt overwhelmed and upset. Instead of using my mind to analyze the source of my frustration and deal with it appropriately, I began sighing exaggeratedly and making snide comments. An explosive argument occurred, which left both my husband and me feeling hurt and upset; the underlying issue remained unresolved.

After prayer and mindful consideration, God granted me wisdom, and I solved the situation with intelligence and creativity, which I then presented gently to my husband.

As the writer of Proverbs says, “…quit before the quarrel breaks out.” Isn’t it best to stop the trickle before it becomes a flood? Can you relate? Have you ever quarreled uselessly in a relationship? If you have found mindful and prayerful creative solutions to difficult relationship issues, please share them with us.

Thank you for joining us today. If you would like to learn more about OhSoFree Ministries, please visit us at www.ohsofreeministries.com/