Uprooting Bitterness

Uprooting Bitterness

When teaching or thinking about people's problems and the issues of bitterness, that often develops in a person's heart, when having troubles with people, I usually refer to four things in regards to dealing with a bitter heart... and the process of healing its deceptive and deadly poison:

1. God has to be the one who reveals the bitterness for what it is.
2. Grace is how that bitterness must be removed.
3. Goodness is the seed that must replace it.
4. Gratitude is the fruit that will make reconciliation enjoyable.

It's fundamental for us to recognize how our attitudes and actions will always "hinge" on what we know and who we believe. My understanding of who serve, why I serve and how to serve I love what Jacob shared when he said,

"...but the God of my father has been with me. And you know that with all my might I have served your father. Yet your father has deceived me and changed my wages ten times, BUT GOD DID NOT ALLOW HIM TO HURT ME." (Genesis 31:5-7)

And because he knew and believed this truth...we find a man who was not angry or bitter with his father-in-law.

Problems with people and how we view them will always be a reflection of what we know and truly believe. Believing the right thing will not keep us from having problems with certain people... but the problem we have will not become a problem with anger, animosity, and bitterness toward those people. Understanding who we are, who we belong to, and who's guiding our "rudderless ark" as He did with Noah, helps us look past the people and trust His promises. It's inevitable, people are going to cheat us, abuse us, misuse us and take advantage of us... but with the right unders