Job 32:19
Behold, my belly is as wine which hath no vent; it is ready to burst like new bottles.
Job felt like he was about ready to burst with no place to release the pressure from what he was enduring. Stop and think about what Job must have felt like. He lost his job, wealth, transportation, health, children, and his wife, who was supposed to be his encourager, only encouraged him to curse God so that he could die. Then, three so-called friends who had come to comfort him turned their comforting words into accusatory and slanderous words. The pain of going through what he was enduring was great enough, but those he wanted to vent to would not listen, which only added to the pressure that he endured.
It is no wonder that Job felt like he was about ready to burst. However, we find that Job had a pressure release valve that inserted Himself into Job’s life, and that pressure release valve was God. Job found the way to release the pressure of what he was enduring when he talked to God. God shows us this release of pressure in Job 42:10, where it says, And the LORD turned the captivity of Job, when he prayed for his friends… The pressure of what he endured was released the moment he prayed to God.
The purpose of a pressure release valve is to let the pressure from the inside out so that whatever that valve is on does not explode. For instance, a pressure cooker has a pressure release valve to let the pressure out before opening because if someone opens that cooker without letting the pressure off, the lid will become the shrapnel of a bomb that explodes off the cooker if opened and hurts the one opening it. The pressure release valve is there to keep the pressure on the inside of the cooker from hurting others.
Pressure in itself is not bad, but in times of pressure there needs to be a pressure release valve to keep you from becoming hurtful to others when you explode on them. Everyone needs a place to vent, and prayer is the best place to vent. Prayer is the pressure release valve for the believer to vent all their pressures of life on God. Prayer has a way of releasing the pressure you feel from heartaches and trials.
When you are about ready to burst, you must find a place alone to vent on God. 1 Peter 5:7 reminds us that prayer is the pressure release valve when it challenges us by saying, Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you. God is your pressure release valve that you are to run to when you feel like you are about to burst from the pressures of life. You will become a bomb that hurts others if you don't spend time in prayer releasing your pressures by venting on God. Many have hurt their relationships with others by venting through anger toward others instead of venting to God in prayer.
Are you facing pressures of life that seem to be building so much pressure inside that you feel like you are about to burst? Do you feel like Job with no place to vent the pressures you feel on the inside? If you are saved, you do have a place to vent, and that place is prayer. God is the master of handling the venting of His children. You will find that you can face your trials when you let prayer be the pressure-release valve of your life. Don't let the pressure build so much that you burst and destroy others. God gives every person the access to vent in prayer, which means you can handle the pressures you face if you allow prayer to be your pressure release valve.
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