“I loathe my life; I will give free utterance to my complaint; I will speak in the bitterness of my soul.”
(Job 10:1, ESV)
(Job 10:1, ESV)
“Perhaps the wound is old. A parent abused you. A teacher slighted you. A mate betrayed you.… And you are angry.
Or perhaps the wound is fresh. The friend who owes you money just drove by in a new car. The boss who hired you with promises of promotions has forgotten how to pronounce your name.… And you are hurt.
Part of you is broken, and the other part is bitter. Part of you wants to cry, and part of you wants to fight.… There is a fire burning in your heart. It’s the fire of anger.…
And you are left with a decision. “Do I put the fire out or heat it up? Do I get over it or get even? Do I release it or resent it? Do I let my hurts heal, or do I let hurt turn into hate?” …
Unfaithfulness is wrong. Revenge is bad. But the worst part of all is that, without forgiveness, bitterness is all that is left.” (Max Lucado, Grace for the Moment, p. 380)
I want you to know that bitterness is a common malady among those who refuse to forgive. After being hurt, it can sometimes take hours or days or weeks or even years to forgive someone who you believe is responsible. The longer unforgiveness and hatred last, the better chance you will be left with bitterness. The longer you hold a grudge, the more probable you will be left bitter and resentful. For today, I want you to consider if you have any vestiges of bitterness swirling around in your heart or soul or mind. If you do, it is a deadly demon.
I met George more than thirty years ago. He had a generous mindset. He was quick with wit and loved God. But George had one huge glaring problem in his spiritual life. He held a long-standing grudge with his neighbor. The neighbor had borrowed an expensive piece of farming equipment, but then damaged it. The neighbor returned the equipment with the damage and even tried to cover it up. Then, when George tried to use the equipment the next time, it failed out in the field and had to be towed back and repaired. It literally cost George several thousand dollars to fix the damage. When George asked his neighbor if he had damaged it, the neighbor got upset and angry, denying any responsibility. For several years, the two didn’t speak. They both held a grudge. For George, the neighbor had shown carelessness and disrespect and deserved everything bad.
Several years passed and George’s neighbor did well financially. The neighbor had a piece of land that was bought by a big corporation for a large sum of money. The more his neighbor grew wealthy, the more George hated it. It even got to the point that George asked me and God, “It isn’t fair! He cheated me, and what did God do? God blesses him. Being good just doesn’t seem worth it to me, is it!?” Through the years, George became more and more bitter. At times, he would burst into anger and yell at his wife. When George’s son got sick, George became even more bitter and resentful. At that point, he was angry at his neighbor, at God, and even got angry at me when I told him to forgive and let it go. He didn’t talk to me for several months.
What George did not realize was that the longer he held on to that bitterness, the more it would eat at his heart and soul. It would disturb his mind. It would erode his inner peace. The more George kept his bitterness, the more his soul became unsettled. Was his several thousand-dollar loss worth years of bitterness? George didn’t see it that way. He only saw the neighbor’s slight. He didn’t see the resulting damage caused by his own bitterness and resentment.
When you fight against God or fail to forgive or fail to let things go to God long enough, bitterness is the result. Bitterness will damage your soul, erode relationships, cause emotions like jealousy and envy to stir. It will lead to arguments and strife and even war. Bitterness is borne when a person is unable to let go of something God wants banished from one’s soul. It is further fortified when a person refuses to forgive or show grace. It becomes overwhelming when one’s emotions begin to feed on the past offense. Bitterness kills you from the inside out.
When the prophet Job began to suffer from calamities in his life, he was stunned. As he lost children to death, he was shocked. When his crops and flocks were lost, he grew angry and resentful. Job had been faithful to God! Why had God allowed this! What Job did not know was that Satan was behind all the losses. Satan was convinced that Job’s love of God was conditional, based on success and wealth only. God was sure of Job’s faith. When Satan killed and stole what Job treasured most in life, Satan was convinced that Job would give up his faith in God. During this awful period of Job’s life, the scripture for today was used to capture his feelings. While Job was suffering his losses, he expressed that he “loathed his life” (Job 10:1). He also confessed that bitterness had captured his soul.
Don’t let bitterness take hold in your soul. If it does, you will “loathe life”. Life will become difficult, even unbearable. Bitterness takes away your joy in life. To get rid of it, you need to find the source of its corruption, the root of bitterness. If you want to get rid of bitterness, it is best to find that root or source. Search your soul. Is there someone (including yourself!) whom you have not forgiven? Is there a grudge you are holding tightly? Are you jealous or envious of someone? Do you resent some past slight? Is there a sin that is playing with your mind? To weed out that bitterness, you are going to have to go to places that might feel uncomfortable. You might have to search those dark thoughts and work through your repressed memories. Then, confession and repentance and God’s grace will save your soul and open you up to healing. As long as the bitterness is there, healing will flee from you. Peace in your mind will not last.
I wish I could say that bitterness is not common in our world. That would not be true. Bitterness is a scourge, a pandemic. It destroys spiritually healthy individuals and can permanently damage a soul. Keep your soul free from bitterness. Otherwise, you will feel just like the prophet Job in the scripture today. You will hate waking up in the morning. You will hardly be able to live with yourself or your thoughts.
Or perhaps the wound is fresh. The friend who owes you money just drove by in a new car. The boss who hired you with promises of promotions has forgotten how to pronounce your name.… And you are hurt.
Part of you is broken, and the other part is bitter. Part of you wants to cry, and part of you wants to fight.… There is a fire burning in your heart. It’s the fire of anger.…
And you are left with a decision. “Do I put the fire out or heat it up? Do I get over it or get even? Do I release it or resent it? Do I let my hurts heal, or do I let hurt turn into hate?” …
Unfaithfulness is wrong. Revenge is bad. But the worst part of all is that, without forgiveness, bitterness is all that is left.” (Max Lucado, Grace for the Moment, p. 380)
I want you to know that bitterness is a common malady among those who refuse to forgive. After being hurt, it can sometimes take hours or days or weeks or even years to forgive someone who you believe is responsible. The longer unforgiveness and hatred last, the better chance you will be left with bitterness. The longer you hold a grudge, the more probable you will be left bitter and resentful. For today, I want you to consider if you have any vestiges of bitterness swirling around in your heart or soul or mind. If you do, it is a deadly demon.
I met George more than thirty years ago. He had a generous mindset. He was quick with wit and loved God. But George had one huge glaring problem in his spiritual life. He held a long-standing grudge with his neighbor. The neighbor had borrowed an expensive piece of farming equipment, but then damaged it. The neighbor returned the equipment with the damage and even tried to cover it up. Then, when George tried to use the equipment the next time, it failed out in the field and had to be towed back and repaired. It literally cost George several thousand dollars to fix the damage. When George asked his neighbor if he had damaged it, the neighbor got upset and angry, denying any responsibility. For several years, the two didn’t speak. They both held a grudge. For George, the neighbor had shown carelessness and disrespect and deserved everything bad.
Several years passed and George’s neighbor did well financially. The neighbor had a piece of land that was bought by a big corporation for a large sum of money. The more his neighbor grew wealthy, the more George hated it. It even got to the point that George asked me and God, “It isn’t fair! He cheated me, and what did God do? God blesses him. Being good just doesn’t seem worth it to me, is it!?” Through the years, George became more and more bitter. At times, he would burst into anger and yell at his wife. When George’s son got sick, George became even more bitter and resentful. At that point, he was angry at his neighbor, at God, and even got angry at me when I told him to forgive and let it go. He didn’t talk to me for several months.
What George did not realize was that the longer he held on to that bitterness, the more it would eat at his heart and soul. It would disturb his mind. It would erode his inner peace. The more George kept his bitterness, the more his soul became unsettled. Was his several thousand-dollar loss worth years of bitterness? George didn’t see it that way. He only saw the neighbor’s slight. He didn’t see the resulting damage caused by his own bitterness and resentment.
When you fight against God or fail to forgive or fail to let things go to God long enough, bitterness is the result. Bitterness will damage your soul, erode relationships, cause emotions like jealousy and envy to stir. It will lead to arguments and strife and even war. Bitterness is borne when a person is unable to let go of something God wants banished from one’s soul. It is further fortified when a person refuses to forgive or show grace. It becomes overwhelming when one’s emotions begin to feed on the past offense. Bitterness kills you from the inside out.
When the prophet Job began to suffer from calamities in his life, he was stunned. As he lost children to death, he was shocked. When his crops and flocks were lost, he grew angry and resentful. Job had been faithful to God! Why had God allowed this! What Job did not know was that Satan was behind all the losses. Satan was convinced that Job’s love of God was conditional, based on success and wealth only. God was sure of Job’s faith. When Satan killed and stole what Job treasured most in life, Satan was convinced that Job would give up his faith in God. During this awful period of Job’s life, the scripture for today was used to capture his feelings. While Job was suffering his losses, he expressed that he “loathed his life” (Job 10:1). He also confessed that bitterness had captured his soul.
Don’t let bitterness take hold in your soul. If it does, you will “loathe life”. Life will become difficult, even unbearable. Bitterness takes away your joy in life. To get rid of it, you need to find the source of its corruption, the root of bitterness. If you want to get rid of bitterness, it is best to find that root or source. Search your soul. Is there someone (including yourself!) whom you have not forgiven? Is there a grudge you are holding tightly? Are you jealous or envious of someone? Do you resent some past slight? Is there a sin that is playing with your mind? To weed out that bitterness, you are going to have to go to places that might feel uncomfortable. You might have to search those dark thoughts and work through your repressed memories. Then, confession and repentance and God’s grace will save your soul and open you up to healing. As long as the bitterness is there, healing will flee from you. Peace in your mind will not last.
I wish I could say that bitterness is not common in our world. That would not be true. Bitterness is a scourge, a pandemic. It destroys spiritually healthy individuals and can permanently damage a soul. Keep your soul free from bitterness. Otherwise, you will feel just like the prophet Job in the scripture today. You will hate waking up in the morning. You will hardly be able to live with yourself or your thoughts.