Looking carefully lest anyone fall short of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up cause trouble. Hebrews 12:15
Bitterness has a tenacious way of taking root deep within the soul and resisting all efforts to weed it out. Bitterness occurs for many reasons. It might come from deep hurts you received as a child, hurts you cannot forget. Time, rather than diminishing the hurt, only seems to sharpen the pain. Bitterness can result from the hurtful words of a friend or coworker. Often the person who hurt you is unaware of the extent of your bitterness. You find yourself rehearsing the offense over and over again, each time driving the root of bitterness deeper within your soul. Bitterness can derive from a sense of being unjustly treated. Bitterness is easy to justify. You can get so used to a bitter heart that you are even comfortable with it, but it will destroy you. Only God is fully aware of its destructive potential. There is nothing so deeply imbedded in your heart that God's grace cannot reach down and remove it. No area in your life is so painful that God's grace cannot bring total healing. No offense committed against you is so heinous that God's love cannot enable you to forgive. When you allow bitterness to grow in your life, you reject the grace of God that can free you. If you are honest before God, you will admit the bitterness and allow God to forgive you. Bitterness enslaves you, but God is prepared to remove your bitterness and replace it with His peace and joy. Blackaby Experiencing God Day by Day
Today my venue to write from is hours from my home. In just the time it took to read my Bible, my devotionals, I have heard so much of God's creation its incredible.
His creation often reaps the negative benefits of the bitterness of mankind.
Bitterness is both cruel and seductive at the same time. In the moments of it we don't even see what it's doing to us nor do we sense the intense danger of its ways.
We embrace the anger rather than be repelled by it. We know not what it's doing to our souls.
Within us we are unknowingly erecting a wall. A wall of bitterness that often we refuse to do anything about yet in time the Spirit will because it's got nothing to do with growing in Christ Jesus. Those walls that we stand behind are actually between us and God.
I have met many people who are unknowingly way too comfortable behind their walls. They can't see just what the years of bitterness have done to their lives and what might have been if they had let go and let God deal with them and the one who offended.
Life is too short to be embracing bitterness.
"I can forgive but I just can't forget!" I have heard that many times. You can if you let go and let God deal with you and the one whom hurt you.
Nobody had more reason to be bitter than Jesus. You might have what a dozen or so in your lifetime that have caused you this painful hurt? Jesus had all humanity. Reconciliation happens at the cross.
Healing happens at the cross.
Nail it to the cross and leave it there. No, there's nothing that I need to understand about the depth of the offense. It was far deeper for Jesus.
We can only begin to break down the wall when we allow the Spirit to handle things.
What are you bitter about? Heinous things can be done by man to man. There's only one way to deal with it. Stephen was being stoned. He knew they were bent on murdering him. His final cries were to forgive. He took their offense to Jesus.
You are the one who either will prolong your healing or you will shorten it.
You either will find yourself fighting God or you will find healing.
The choice is yours.
Life is already short enough. Wasting it in bitterness robs you, not the one who caused your situation.
You are the one who is living in that moment. Not the offending people or person.
You must forgive and ask God's help in letting go. To finish the race well. To fight the good fight.
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