Special series Month August Resentment and bitterness

Noel Merrick

Special series Month August Resentment and bitterness • Sermon • Submitted 6 years ago

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What Does the Bible Say about Bitterness and Resentment?

Where is my life headed?

When you are offended or disappointed by others and allow the hurt to germinate in your heart, bitterness and resentment will take root. Characterized by an unforgiving spirit and generally negative, critical attitudes, bitterness and resentment are sinful and self-defeating. They will color your conscious and unconscious thoughts and actions. Allowed to fester, they will destroy and kill (). However, they can be dispelled with love.

Galatians 5:19–21 KJV 1900

19 Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, 20 Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, 21 Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.

What Scripture Says

"Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord. See to it that no one misses the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many" (,).

Hebrews 12:14 KJV 1900

14 Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord:

Hebrews 12:15 KJV 1900

15 Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled;

"Get rid of all bitterness, rage, and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you" (,).

Ephesians 4:31 KJV 1900

31 Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice:

Ephesians 4:32 KJV 1900

32 And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.

"When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly" ().

1 Peter 2:23 KJV 1900

23 Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not; but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously:

"Jesus said, Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing..." ().

Luke 23:34 KJV 1900

34 Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. And they parted his raiment, and cast lots.

"For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins" (,).

Matthew 6:14 KJV 1900

14 For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you:

Matthew 6:15 KJV 1900

15 But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

"Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited. Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written: 'It is mine to avenge; I will repay,' says the Lord. On the contrary: 'If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.' Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good" ().

Romans 12:14–21 KJV 1900

14 Bless them which persecute you: bless, and curse not. 15 Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep. 16 Be of the same mind one toward another. Mind not high things, but condescend to men of low estate. Be not wise in your own conceits. 17 Recompense to no man evil for evil. Provide things honest in the sight of all men. 18 If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men. 19 Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord. 20 Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head. 21 Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.

How to Be Free from Bitterness and Resentment

Like depression and other emotional stress, bitterness and resentment can aggravate or cause physical problems such as arthritis. You can be affected mentally, spiritually, and otherwise. Your relationships will always suffer.

God can free you from this sin. It is an oppressive and destructive emotion having its root in hate, which is likened to murder. You must repent. No one can have peace and happiness with such emotions tearing at him. If you have not done so, ask God to forgive you and to come into your life right now. He will deliver you from the power of the enemy ().

Psalm 91:3 KJV 1900

3 Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, And from the noisome pestilence.

If you are already a Christian, you should still ask God to forgive you for being bitter and resentful. Then ask Him to forgive anyone who may have hurt you, and toward whom you are bitter or resentful, even as He forgives you.

Seek to be baptized with the Holy Spirit if you are not already. Look for opportunities to demonstrate love to the person who offended you.

God forgives and forgets sin. However, you may have made your best effort to forgive and forget and find that you cannot. God can help you to cleanse your memory. Instead of remembering with malice and hurt, remember with forgiveness. Then go one step further and ask God to forgive your offender. By forgiving and then asking God to forgive your offender, you release God to bless you and the other person.

As You Pray

Pray in this manner:

Father, I acknowledge that I've held resentment and bitterness against _______________. I confess this as sin and ask you to forgive me. I forgive __________________. Remind me, Lord, to not hold any more resentments, but rather to love this person. Father, I ask you to also forgive ______________________.

Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. In Jesus' name, Amen.

References/Homework

BITTERNESS

Acts 8:23 KJV 1900

23 For I perceive that thou art in the gall of bitterness, and in the bond of iniquity.

Romans 3:14 KJV 1900

14 Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness:

Ephesians 4:31 KJV 1900

31 Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice:

Hebrews 12:15 KJV 1900

15 Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled;

James 3:14 KJV 1900

14 But if ye have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, glory not, and lie not against the truth.

ENVY

Psalm 37:1 KJV 1900

1 Fret not thyself because of evildoers, Neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity.

Proverbs 3:31 KJV 1900

31 Envy thou not the oppressor, And choose none of his ways.

Proverbs 23:17 KJV 1900

17 Let not thine heart envy sinners: But be thou in the fear of the Lord all the day long.

Galatians 5:26 KJV 1900

26 Let us not be desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another.

Genesis 26:14 KJV 1900

14 For he had possession of flocks, and possession of herds, and great store of servants: and the Philistines envied him.

Matthew 27:18 KJV 1900

18 For he knew that for envy they had delivered him.

HATRED 1

Leviticus 19:17 KJV 1900

17 Thou shalt not hate thy brother in thine heart: thou shalt in any wise rebuke thy neighbour, and not suffer sin upon him.

Proverbs 10:12 KJV 1900

12 Hatred stirreth up strifes: But love covereth all sins.

Proverbs 15:17 KJV 1900

17 Better is a dinner of herbs where love is, Than a stalled ox and hatred therewith.

1 John 2:9 KJV 1900

9 He that saith he is in the light, and hateth his brother, is in darkness even until now.

John 4:20 KJV 1900

20 Our fathers worshipped in this mountain; and ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship.

MALICE ,

1 Corinthians 5:8 KJV 1900

8 Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

1 Corinthians 14:20 KJV 1900

20 Brethren, be not children in understanding: howbeit in malice be ye children, but in understanding be men.

Colossians 3:8 KJV 1900

8 But now ye also put off all these; anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth.

1 Peter 2:1 KJV 1900

1 Wherefore laying aside all malice, and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, and all evil speakings,

Esther 3:6 KJV 1900

6 And he thought scorn to lay hands on Mordecai alone; for they had shewed him the people of Mordecai: wherefore Haman sought to destroy all the Jews that were throughout the whole kingdom of Ahasuerus, even the people of Mordecai.

Psalm 140:3 KJV 1900

3 They have sharpened their tongues like a serpent; Adders’ poison is under their lips. Selah.

Isaiah 59:4 KJV 1900

4 None calleth for justice, nor any pleadeth for truth: They trust in vanity, and speak lies; They conceive mischief, and bring forth iniquity.

Isaiah 59:5 KJV 1900

5 They hatch cockatrice’ eggs, And weave the spider’s web: He that eateth of their eggs dieth, And that which is crushed breaketh out into a viper.

Matthew 27:23 KJV 1900

23 And the governor said, Why, what evil hath he done? But they cried out the more, saying, Let him be crucified.

John 12:10 KJV 1900

10 But the chief priests consulted that they might put Lazarus also to death;

Acts 7:54 KJV 1900

54 When they heard these things, they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed on him with their teeth.

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Bitterness, Resentment, and Self-Pity vs. Wholesome Thoughts

Instead of bitterly brooding in self-pity and resentment, feeling sorry for ourselves about mistreatment, God's word can teach us wholesome thoughts.

Introduction:

Many of us tend to brood bitterly in self-pity about real or imagined mistreatment or failures of people around us. This has often been a problem for me, and I am sure for others too.

Consider some Biblical principles about this subject.

The meaning of the principal terms as we will be using them in the study:

Bitterness – resentful or cynical antagonism or hostility

Self-pity – excessive, self-absorbed unhappiness over one’s troubles, especially problems caused because we believe others have mistreated us or acted improperly.

Resentment – bitter indignation at having been treated unfairly

Note that some of the passages we will study may discuss these concepts or give examples without necessarily using these terms.

Bitter self-pity is closely related to other Bible subjects.

Other related topics include grief, mistreatment, worry, troubles, suffering, anger, depression, vengeance, and hatred. Much of what we study about this subject should help us deal with these related subjects.

Thinking about our problems is not necessarily wrong, so we will need to examine when it may become wrong.

The Bible gives many examples of people who thought about their problems in order to deal with them. But in other cases brooding can become harmful or even sinful.

Like anger and many other practices described in Scripture, thinking about our troubles can be good or bad depending on how we react. So consider with me what we can learn from Scripture about the difference between wholesome meditation and bitter self-pity.

Pray, Trust God, and Meditate on His Word Instead of Brooding.

Examples of Bitter Self-Pity

; ; ; ; ; – Job repeatedly stated that he was bitter because of his suffering. As a result he complained and blamed God for making him bitter. God responded by teaching Job to trust God to do right regardless of whether or not he understood. People who brood over misfortunes often blame God. Or they may fail to trust that God is in charge and will take care of them.

Job 7:11 KJV 1900

11 Therefore I will not refrain my mouth; I will speak in the anguish of my spirit; I will complain in the bitterness of my soul.

Job 9:18 KJV 1900

18 He will not suffer me to take my breath, But filleth me with bitterness.

Job 10:1 KJV 1900

1 My soul is weary of my life; I will leave my complaint upon myself; I will speak in the bitterness of my soul.

Job 23:2 KJV 1900

2 Even to day is my complaint bitter: My stroke is heavier than my groaning.

Job 27:2 KJV 1900

2 As God liveth, who hath taken away my judgment; And the Almighty, who hath vexed my soul;

Job 42:1–6 KJV 1900

1 Then Job answered the Lord, and said, 2 I know that thou canst do every thing, And that no thought can be withholden from thee. 3 Who is he that hideth counsel Without knowledge? Therefore have I uttered that I understood not; Things too wonderful for me, which I knew not. 4 Hear, I beseech thee, and I will speak: I will demand of thee, and declare thou unto me. 5 I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear: But now mine eye seeth thee. 6 Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent In dust and ashes.

, – Esau was bitter when he learned that Jacob had deceived their father Isaac in order to receive the blessing that Isaac intended to give to Esau. As a result, he hated Jacob and determined that, after their father died, he would kill Jacob. Bitter brooding often leads us to seek vengeance or harm those we believe mistreated us.

Genesis 27:33–36 KJV 1900

33 And Isaac trembled very exceedingly, and said, Who? where is he that hath taken venison, and brought it me, and I have eaten of all before thou camest, and have blessed him? yea, and he shall be blessed. 34 And when Esau heard the words of his father, he cried with a great and exceeding bitter cry, and said unto his father, Bless me, even me also, O my father. 35 And he said, Thy brother came with subtilty, and hath taken away thy blessing. 36 And he said, Is not he rightly named Jacob? for he hath supplanted me these two times: he took away my birthright; and, behold, now he hath taken away my blessing. And he said, Hast thou not reserved a blessing for me?

Genesis 27:41 KJV 1900

41 And Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing wherewith his father blessed him: and Esau said in his heart, The days of mourning for my father are at hand; then will I slay my brother Jacob.

– Ahab wanted to buy Naboth’s vineyard, but Naboth refused. So Ahab went home sullen and displeased, lay down on his bed, turned his face to the wall, and would not eat. So self-pity may lead us to pout and feel sorry for ourselves when no one really did us wrong. Eventually Naboth was murdered as a result.

1 Kings 21:1–4 KJV 1900

1 And it came to pass after these things, that Naboth the Jezreelite had a vineyard, which was in Jezreel, hard by the palace of Ahab king of Samaria. 2 And Ahab spake unto Naboth, saying, Give me thy vineyard, that I may have it for a garden of herbs, because it is near unto my house: and I will give thee for it a better vineyard than it; or, if it seem good to thee, I will give thee the worth of it in money. 3 And Naboth said to Ahab, The Lord forbid it me, that I should give the inheritance of my fathers unto thee. 4 And Ahab came into his house heavy and displeased because of the word which Naboth the Jezreelite had spoken to him: for he had said, I will not give thee the inheritance of my fathers. And he laid him down upon his bed, and turned away his face, and would eat no bread.

In all of these examples, people did wrong because they bitterly brooded about their problems instead of putting their problems in the hands of God and trusting Him to do right.

Examples of People Who Overcame Bitterness

In contrast to those whose bitterness led to sin, consider these examples:

– Joseph was his father’s favorite son, so his brothers became extremely jealous. As a result, they sold him as a slave to Egypt. Years later, the brothers were reconciled and Joseph forgave them, but the brothers feared that Joseph would still take vengeance.

Genesis 50:17–21 KJV 1900

17 So shall ye say unto Joseph, Forgive, I pray thee now, the trespass of thy brethren, and their sin; for they did unto thee evil: and now, we pray thee, forgive the trespass of the servants of the God of thy father. And Joseph wept when they spake unto him. 18 And his brethren also went and fell down before his face; and they said, Behold, we be thy servants. 19 And Joseph said unto them, Fear not: for am I in the place of God? 20 But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive. 21 Now therefore fear ye not: I will nourish you, and your little ones. And he comforted them, and spake kindly unto them.

Mulling in self-pity may lead us to fail to truly forgive even when people repent. This is what the brothers feared Joseph would do. Joseph explained that, despite the brothers’ evil intent, God had used the events for the good of their family. Instead of seeking vengeance, Joseph learned to trust God to do what was best.

– Hannah was bitter because she had no children and because Peninah made fun of her. As a result she did not eat but grieved. She dealt with the problem by praying to God and seeking a solution according to His will.

1 Samuel 1:6–11 KJV 1900

6 And her adversary also provoked her sore, for to make her fret, because the Lord had shut up her womb. 7 And as he did so year by year, when she went up to the house of the Lord, so she provoked her; therefore she wept, and did not eat. 8 Then said Elkanah her husband to her, Hannah, why weepest thou? and why eatest thou not? and why is thy heart grieved? am not I better to thee than ten sons? 9 So Hannah rose up after they had eaten in Shiloh, and after they had drunk. Now Eli the priest sat upon a seat by a post of the temple of the Lord. 10 And she was in bitterness of soul, and prayed unto the Lord, and wept sore. 11 And she vowed a vow, and said, O Lord of hosts, if thou wilt indeed look on the affliction of thine handmaid, and remember me, and not forget thine handmaid, but wilt give unto thine handmaid a man child, then I will give him unto the Lord all the days of his life, and there shall no rasor come upon his head.

– Paul prayed three times for God to remove his thorn in the flesh. But God revealed that the problem actually benefited Paul. God said His strength was sufficient, so Paul accepted that what God allowed was actually for his good.

2 Corinthians 12:7–10 KJV 1900

7 And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure. 8 For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me. 9 And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 10 Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.

– Jesus faced mistreatment and injustice worse than any of us face. Knowing what lay before Him, He was deeply distressed. In Gethsemane He prayed to God and asked that the problem could be avoided. But if not, He was willing to do the will of the Father.

Matthew 26:37–44 KJV 1900

37 And he took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be sorrowful and very heavy. 38 Then saith he unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: tarry ye here, and watch with me. 39 And he went a little further, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt. 40 And he cometh unto the disciples, and findeth them asleep, and saith unto Peter, What, could ye not watch with me one hour? 41 Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak. 42 He went away again the second time, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it, thy will be done. 43 And he came and found them asleep again: for their eyes were heavy. 44 And he left them, and went away again, and prayed the third time, saying the same words.

These examples show there is serious danger in bitter resentment and self-pity. But Jesus and other men of God dealt with mistreatment by praying to God and trusting Him to care for them.

[; ,; ; ; ; ]

Acts 4:18–31 KJV 1900

18 And they called them, and commanded them not to speak at all nor teach in the name of Jesus. 19 But Peter and John answered and said unto them, Whether it be right in the sight of God to hearken unto you more than unto God, judge ye. 20 For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard. 21 So when they had further threatened them, they let them go, finding nothing how they might punish them, because of the people: for all men glorified God for that which was done. 22 For the man was above forty years old, on whom this miracle of healing was shewed. 23 And being let go, they went to their own company, and reported all that the chief priests and elders had said unto them. 24 And when they heard that, they lifted up their voice to God with one accord, and said, Lord, thou art God, which hast made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all that in them is: 25 Who by the mouth of thy servant David hast said, Why did the heathen rage, and the people imagine vain things? 26 The kings of the earth stood up, and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord, and against his Christ. 27 For of a truth against thy holy child Jesus, whom thou hast anointed, both Herod, and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles, and the people of Israel, were gathered together, 28 For to do whatsoever thy hand and thy counsel determined before to be done. 29 And now, Lord, behold their threatenings: and grant unto thy servants, that with all boldness they may speak thy word, 30 By stretching forth thine hand to heal; and that signs and wonders may be done by the name of thy holy child Jesus. 31 And when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled together; and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they spake the word of God with boldness.

Psalm 38:1–8 KJV 1900

1 O Lord, rebuke me not in thy wrath: Neither chasten me in thy hot displeasure. 2 For thine arrows stick fast in me, And thy hand presseth me sore. 3 There is no soundness in my flesh because of thine anger; Neither is there any rest in my bones because of my sin. 4 For mine iniquities are gone over mine head: As an heavy burden they are too heavy for me. 5 My wounds stink and are corrupt Because of my foolishness. 6 I am troubled; I am bowed down greatly; I go mourning all the day long. 7 For my loins are filled with a loathsome disease: And there is no soundness in my flesh. 8 I am feeble and sore broken: I have roared by reason of the disquietness of my heart.

Psalm 38:18–22 KJV 1900

18 For I will declare mine iniquity; I will be sorry for my sin. 19 But mine enemies are lively, and they are strong: And they that hate me wrongfully are multiplied. 20 They also that render evil for good are mine adversaries; Because I follow the thing that good is. 21 Forsake me not, O Lord: O my God, be not far from me. 22 Make haste to help me, O Lord my salvation.

Psalm 1:1–3 KJV 1900

1 Blessed is the man That walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, Nor standeth in the way of sinners, Nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. 2 But his delight is in the law of the Lord; And in his law doth he meditate day and night. 3 And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, That bringeth forth his fruit in his season; His leaf also shall not wither; And whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.

2 Kings 19:14–19 KJV 1900

14 And Hezekiah received the letter of the hand of the messengers, and read it: and Hezekiah went up into the house of the Lord, and spread it before the Lord. 15 And Hezekiah prayed before the Lord, and said, O Lord God of Israel, which dwellest between the cherubims, thou art the God, even thou alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth; thou hast made heaven and earth. 16 Lord, bow down thine ear, and hear: open, Lord, thine eyes, and see: and hear the words of Sennacherib, which hath sent him to reproach the living God. 17 Of a truth, Lord, the kings of Assyria have destroyed the nations and their lands, 18 And have cast their gods into the fire: for they were no gods, but the work of men’s hands, wood and stone: therefore they have destroyed them. 19 Now therefore, O Lord our God, I beseech thee, save thou us out of his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that thou art the Lord God, even thou only.

2 Kings 20:1–3 KJV 1900

1 In those days was Hezekiah sick unto death. And the prophet Isaiah the son of Amoz came to him, and said unto him, Thus saith the Lord, Set thine house in order; for thou shalt die, and not live. 2 Then he turned his face to the wall, and prayed unto the Lord, saying, 3 I beseech thee, O Lord, remember now how I have walked before thee in truth and with a perfect heart, and have done that which is good in thy sight. And Hezekiah wept sore.

John 14:27 KJV 1900

27 Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.

Appreciate God’s Blessings Instead of Dwelling on Mistreatment.

Examples of Self-Pity

, – Israel and Moses: God provided manna the people could simply gather off the ground, yet they complained because they remembered the foods they had in Egypt and they wanted meat to eat. Moses then said he could no longer bear the burden of the people; if it continued, then God may as well kill him.

Numbers 11:4–6 KJV 1900

4 And the mixt multitude that was among them fell a lusting: and the children of Israel also wept again, and said, Who shall give us flesh to eat? 5 We remember the fish, which we did eat in Egypt freely; the cucumbers, and the melons, and the leeks, and the onions, and the garlick: 6 But now our soul is dried away: there is nothing at all, beside this manna, before our eyes.

Numbers 11:10–15 KJV 1900

10 Then Moses heard the people weep throughout their families, every man in the door of his tent: and the anger of the Lord was kindled greatly; Moses also was displeased. 11 And Moses said unto the Lord, Wherefore hast thou afflicted thy servant? and wherefore have I not found favour in thy sight, that thou layest the burden of all this people upon me? 12 Have I conceived all this people? have I begotten them, that thou shouldest say unto me, Carry them in thy bosom, as a nursing father beareth the sucking child, unto the land which thou swarest unto their fathers? 13 Whence should I have flesh to give unto all this people? for they weep unto me, saying, Give us flesh, that we may eat. 14 I am not able to bear all this people alone, because it is too heavy for me. 15 And if thou deal thus with me, kill me, I pray thee, out of hand, if I have found favour in thy sight; and let me not see my wretchedness.

Moses had justifiable reason to be upset, so God helped him. I do not know that Moses sinned. But the people definitely sinned because they failed to appreciate the gifts God had richly provided. Brooding and self-pity often lead to a lack of gratitude for God’s blessings.

; , – Haman was second-in-command to the king of the Persian Empire. He had honor, wealth, and a large family. Yet he was indignant and unhappy because one Jew refused to bow to him. At the urging of his family and friends, he decided to hang Mordecai. When instead the king required Haman to honor Mordecai, he went home grieving.

Esther 5:9–14 KJV 1900

9 Then went Haman forth that day joyful and with a glad heart: but when Haman saw Mordecai in the king’s gate, that he stood not up, nor moved for him, he was full of indignation against Mordecai. 10 Nevertheless Haman refrained himself: and when he came home, he sent and called for his friends, and Zeresh his wife. 11 And Haman told them of the glory of his riches, and the multitude of his children, and all the things wherein the king had promoted him, and how he had advanced him above the princes and servants of the king. 12 Haman said moreover, Yea, Esther the queen did let no man come in with the king unto the banquet that she had prepared but myself; and to morrow am I invited unto her also with the king. 13 Yet all this availeth me nothing, so long as I see Mordecai the Jew sitting at the king’s gate. 14 Then said Zeresh his wife and all his friends unto him, Let a gallows be made of fifty cubits high, and to morrow speak thou unto the king that Mordecai may be hanged thereon: then go thou in merrily with the king unto the banquet. And the thing pleased Haman; and he caused the gallows to be made.

Esther 6:12 KJV 1900

12 And Mordecai came again to the king’s gate. But Haman hasted to his house mourning, and having his head covered.

Esther 6:13 KJV 1900

13 And Haman told Zeresh his wife and all his friends every thing that had befallen him. Then said his wise men and Zeresh his wife unto him, If Mordecai be of the seed of the Jews, before whom thou hast begun to fall, thou shalt not prevail against him, but shalt surely fall before him.

Haman’s bitterness not only led him to fail to appreciate his blessings, but it led him to seek to kill a man who had never done him any real wrong.

[]

Jeremiah 10:14–18 KJV 1900

14 Every man is brutish in his knowledge: Every founder is confounded by the graven image: For his molten image is falsehood, and there is no breath in them. 15 They are vanity, and the work of errors: In the time of their visitation they shall perish. 16 The portion of Jacob is not like them: For he is the former of all things; And Israel is the rod of his inheritance: The Lord of hosts is his name. 17 Gather up thy wares out of the land, O inhabitant of the fortress. 18 For thus saith the Lord, Behold, I will sling out the inhabitants of the land at this once, And will distress them, that they may find it so.

Examples of Wholesome Attitudes Despite Mistreatment

,, – Asaph almost stumbled because he was envious at the prosperity of the wicked. They do not seem to be troubled as are the righteous, so it appears there is no benefit in serving God. When he went to God’s sanctuary and appreciated the blessings of serving God, Asaph understood the ultimate consequences.

Psalm 73:2–5 KJV 1900

2 But as for me, my feet were almost gone; My steps had well nigh slipped. 3 For I was envious at the foolish, When I saw the prosperity of the wicked. 4 For there are no bands in their death: But their strength is firm. 5 They are not in trouble as other men; Neither are they plagued like other men.

Psalm 73:12–19 KJV 1900

12 Behold, these are the ungodly, Who prosper in the world; they increase in riches. 13 Verily I have cleansed my heart in vain, And washed my hands in innocency. 14 For all the day long have I been plagued, And chastened every morning. 15 If I say, I will speak thus; Behold, I should offend against the generation of thy children. 16 When I thought to know this, It was too painful for me; 17 Until I went into the sanctuary of God; Then understood I their end. 18 Surely thou didst set them in slippery places: Thou castedst them down into destruction. 19 How are they brought into desolation, as in a moment! They are utterly consumed with terrors.

Psalm 73:24–28 KJV 1900

24 Thou shalt guide me with thy counsel, And afterward receive me to glory. 25 Whom have I in heaven but thee? And there is none upon earth that I desire beside thee. 26 My flesh and my heart faileth: But God is the strength of my heart, and my portion for ever. 27 For, lo, they that are far from thee shall perish: Thou hast destroyed all them that go a whoring from thee. 28 But it is good for me to draw near to God: I have put my trust in the Lord God, That I may declare all thy works.

– The apostles were beaten and warned not to continue preaching about Jesus. Instead of bitterly resenting their mistreatment, they rejoiced to suffer for the cause of Christ. Many people allow mistreatment to discourage them so that they cease to fulfill their responsibilities for the Lord. Instead, the apostles recognized and appreciated the blessings they had and the opportunity they had to serve God.

Acts 5:40–42 KJV 1900

40 And to him they agreed: and when they had called the apostles, and beaten them, they commanded that they should not speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go. 41 And they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for his name. 42 And daily in the temple, and in every house, they ceased not to teach and preach Jesus Christ.

– Even though our outward man perishes, we should not lose heart because our inward man may be renewed day by day. The affliction we have is but for a moment and is a light affliction compared to the far greater weight of glory before us.

2 Corinthians 4:16–18 KJV 1900

16 For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day. 17 For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; 18 While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.

So rather than focusing on your problems, brooding and mulling over them in your mind, focus on the blessings God gives and the ultimate eternal rewards.

Work to Help others and Serve God, Rather Than Neglecting Work to Feel Sorry for Oneself.

Examples of Self-Pity

– David: When his son Absalom led a revolution and was killed in battle, David went into his room and grieved, wishing he had died instead of Absalom. Joab told him that he was treating the people who had defended him as though they were the ones who did wrong. He urged David to reassure the people of his appreciation or they would all cease following him.

2 Samuel 18:33–19:8 KJV 1900

33 And the king was much moved, and went up to the chamber over the gate, and wept: and as he went, thus he said, O my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom! would God I had died for thee, O Absalom, my son, my son! 1 And it was told Joab, Behold, the king weepeth and mourneth for Absalom. 2 And the victory that day was turned into mourning unto all the people: for the people heard say that day how the king was grieved for his son. 3 And the people gat them by stealth that day into the city, as people being ashamed steal away when they flee in battle. 4 But the king covered his face, and the king cried with a loud voice, O my son Absalom, O Absalom, my son, my son! 5 And Joab came into the house to the king, and said, Thou hast shamed this day the faces of all thy servants, which this day have saved thy life, and the lives of thy sons and of thy daughters, and the lives of thy wives, and the lives of thy concubines; 6 In that thou lovest thine enemies, and hatest thy friends. For thou hast declared this day, that thou regardest neither princes nor servants: for this day I perceive, that if Absalom had lived, and all we had died this day, then it had pleased thee well. 7 Now therefore arise, go forth, and speak comfortably unto thy servants: for I swear by the Lord, if thou go not forth, there will not tarry one with thee this night: and that will be worse unto thee than all the evil that befell thee from thy youth until now. 8 Then the king arose, and sat in the gate. And they told unto all the people, saying, Behold, the king doth sit in the gate. And all the people came before the king: for Israel had fled every man to his tent.

, – Elijah had demonstrated the power of God and had slain the prophets of Baal at Mount Carmel (chapter 18). But Jezebel threatened to take his life, so he fled and prayed for God to take his life. At Mount Horeb God asked him what he was doing there. Elijah said all the prophets of God had been slain, he was the only one left, and they sought to kill him.

1 Kings 19:1–4 KJV 1900

1 And Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, and withal how he had slain all the prophets with the sword. 2 Then Jezebel sent a messenger unto Elijah, saying, So let the gods do to me, and more also, if I make not thy life as the life of one of them by to morrow about this time. 3 And when he saw that, he arose, and went for his life, and came to Beer-sheba, which belongeth to Judah, and left his servant there. 4 But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a juniper tree: and he requested for himself that he might die; and said, It is enough; now, O Lord, take away my life; for I am not better than my fathers.

1 Kings 19:13–18 KJV 1900

13 And it was so, when Elijah heard it, that he wrapped his face in his mantle, and went out, and stood in the entering in of the cave. And, behold, there came a voice unto him, and said, What doest thou here, Elijah? 14 And he said, I have been very jealous for the Lord God of hosts: because the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, thrown down thine altars, and slain thy prophets with the sword; and I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it away. 15 And the Lord said unto him, Go, return on thy way to the wilderness of Damascus: and when thou comest, anoint Hazael to be king over Syria: 16 And Jehu the son of Nimshi shalt thou anoint to be king over Israel: and Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah shalt thou anoint to be prophet in thy room. 17 And it shall come to pass, that him that escapeth the sword of Hazael shall Jehu slay: and him that escapeth from the sword of Jehu shall Elisha slay. 18 Yet I have left me seven thousand in Israel, all the knees which have not bowed unto Baal, and every mouth which hath not kissed him.

God told him to get up and go anoint people to various leadership roles. But God still had seven thousand who had not bowed their knee to Baal. Things were not nearly as bad as Elijah thought, and God still had work for him. He needed to stop brooding and get to work.

When people wallow in bitter self-pity, often they sit around and mope. They tend to think things are worse than what they really are. They may neglect their work, they may fail to appreciate their real friends, or they may mistreat those close to them. Regardless of how they feel, they need to get up, go to work, and appreciate the blessings they have and the people who care for them.

Examples of People Who Overcame Bitterness

, – Joseph’s brothers sold him as a slave to Egypt. Later he was imprisoned because his master’s wife lied about him. But instead of sitting around feeling sorry for himself, Joseph always worked hard and did the best he could in whatever position he found himself.

Genesis 39:4 KJV 1900

4 And Joseph found grace in his sight, and he served him: and he made him overseer over his house, and all that he had he put into his hand.

Genesis 39:22 KJV 1900

22 And the keeper of the prison committed to Joseph’s hand all the prisoners that were in the prison; and whatsoever they did there, he was the doer of it.

, – Mordecai cried aloud bitterly when he heard that Haman had issued a decree that all Jews would be slain. However, he immediately went to work on the problem by urging Esther to speak to the king on behalf of the Jews.

Esther 4:1 KJV 1900

1 When Mordecai perceived all that was done, Mordecai rent his clothes, and put on sackcloth with ashes, and went out into the midst of the city, and cried with a loud and a bitter cry;

Esther 4:5–8 KJV 1900

5 Then called Esther for Hatach, one of the king’s chamberlains, whom he had appointed to attend upon her, and gave him a commandment to Mordecai, to know what it was, and why it was. 6 So Hatach went forth to Mordecai unto the street of the city, which was before the king’s gate. 7 And Mordecai told him of all that had happened unto him, and of the sum of the money that Haman had promised to pay to the king’s treasuries for the Jews, to destroy them. 8 Also he gave him the copy of the writing of the decree that was given at Shushan to destroy them, to shew it unto Esther, and to declare it unto her, and to charge her that she should go in unto the king, to make supplication unto him, and to make request before him for her people.

– Jesus in Gethsemane was facing severe mistreatment and injustice. But after praying to God, He proceeded to act with courage and strength to do exactly what He knew was the will of the Father.

Matthew 26:37–44 KJV 1900

– Peter and John had been called before the Sanhedrin council, warned not to preach about Jesus, and threatened with punishment. Instead of moping and feeling sorry for themselves, they met with other Christians and prayed to God for boldness. Then they continued to preach despite the threats. []

Acts 4:18–31 KJV 1900

Acts 5:40–42 KJV 1900

, – Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away, with all malice. And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God in Christ forgave you. Bitterness is associated with wrath, anger, evil speaking, and malice. Often our bitterness expresses itself in mistreating those around us even when they have done us no wrong. The solution is to learn to be kind and forgiving as God is. []

Ephesians 4:31 KJV 1900

31 Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice:

Ephesians 4:32 KJV 1900

32 And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.

James 3:11 KJV 1900

11 Doth a fountain send forth at the same place sweet water and bitter?

– Husbands, love your wives and do not be bitter toward them. Often our bitterness is expressed especially toward family members. Apparently we as men have a special problem. The solution is to love and act for the good of others instead of brooding about problems.

Colossians 3:19 KJV 1900

19 Husbands, love your wives, and be not bitter against them.

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Leviticus 19:18 KJV 1900

18 Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I am the Lord.

Romans 12:14 KJV 1900

14 Bless them which persecute you: bless, and curse not.

Romans 12:17–21 KJV 1900

17 Recompense to no man evil for evil. Provide things honest in the sight of all men. 18 If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men. 19 Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord. 20 Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head. 21 Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.

1 Corinthians 13:4–7 KJV 1900

4 Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, 5 Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; 6 Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; 7 Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.

James 3:14–17 KJV 1900

14 But if ye have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, glory not, and lie not against the truth. 15 This wisdom descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish. 16 For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work. 17 But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy.

Nehemiah 13:4–9 KJV 1900

4 And before this, Eliashib the priest, having the oversight of the chamber of the house of our God, was allied unto Tobiah: 5 And he had prepared for him a great chamber, where aforetime they laid the meat offerings, the frankincense, and the vessels, and the tithes of the corn, the new wine, and the oil, which was commanded to be given to the Levites, and the singers, and the porters; and the offerings of the priests. 6 But in all this time was not I at Jerusalem: for in the two and thirtieth year of Artaxerxes king of Babylon came I unto the king, and after certain days obtained I leave of the king: 7 And I came to Jerusalem, and understood of the evil that Eliashib did for Tobiah, in preparing him a chamber in the courts of the house of God. 8 And it grieved me sore: therefore I cast forth all the household stuff of Tobiah out of the chamber. 9 Then I commanded, and they cleansed the chambers: and thither brought I again the vessels of the house of God, with the meat offering and the frankincense.

2 Samuel 2:26 KJV 1900

26 Then Abner called to Joab, and said, Shall the sword devour for ever? knowest thou not that it will be bitterness in the latter end? how long shall it be then, ere thou bid the people return from following their brethren?

Ephesians 6:5–8 KJV 1900

5 Servants, be obedient to them that are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in singleness of your heart, as unto Christ; 6 Not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but as the servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart; 7 With good will doing service, as to the Lord, and not to men: 8 Knowing that whatsoever good thing any man doeth, the same shall he receive of the Lord, whether he be bond or free.

1 Peter 2:18–20 KJV 1900

18 Servants, be subject to your masters with all fear; not only to the good and gentle, but also to the froward. 19 For this is thankworthy, if a man for conscience toward God endure grief, suffering wrongfully. 20 For what glory is it, if, when ye be buffeted for your faults, ye shall take it patiently? but if, when ye do well, and suffer for it, ye take it patiently, this is acceptable with God.

If Our Bitterness Involves Sin, We Must Repent and Seek Forgiveness.

Sometimes People Become Bitter Because of the Consequences of Their Sins.

– David said the consequences of his sins and of God’s wrath was a burden too heavy to be borne. He confessed his errors and called upon God to help him (verses 18-22).

Psalm 38:1–8 KJV 1900

– David groaned all day long because of the burden of guilt; but when he confessed his sins, God forgave him.

Psalm 32:1–5 KJV 1900

1 Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. 2 Blessed is the man unto whom the Lord imputeth not iniquity, And in whose spirit there is no guile. 3 When I kept silence, my bones waxed old Through my roaring all the day long. 4 For day and night thy hand was heavy upon me: My moisture is turned into the drought of summer. Selah. 5 I acknowledged my sin unto thee, And mine iniquity have I not hid. I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the Lord; And thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin. Selah.

– Peter wept bitterly when he realized he had been guilty of denying Christ.

Matthew 26:75 KJV 1900

75 And Peter remembered the word of Jesus, which said unto him, Before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice. And he went out, and wept bitterly.

, – Simon had been forgiven yet he went back into sin. Peter said that he was poisoned by bitterness and bound by iniquity. He must repent and pray for forgiveness.

Acts 8:22 KJV 1900

22 Repent therefore of this thy wickedness, and pray God, if perhaps the thought of thine heart may be forgiven thee.

Acts 8:23 KJV 1900

23 For I perceive that thou art in the gall of bitterness, and in the bond of iniquity.

Often people wallow in self-pity and bitterness because of the consequences of their own sins. They may deny their guilt, make excuses, or blame others. Some even blame God for their problems. The only real solution is to recognize that one is suffering the guilt of his own sins and seek forgiveness according to the Scriptures.

[]

Ezra 10:1 KJV 1900

1 Now when Ezra had prayed, and when he had confessed, weeping and casting himself down before the house of God, there assembled unto him out of Israel a very great congregation of men and women and children: for the people wept very sore.

Sometimes Bitter Self Pity Leads Us to Commit Sin.

In other cases, people may become so bitterly resentful and full of self-pity that they allow their bitterness to lead them to commit sin. In this case, sin may not be the initial cause of the bitterness, but failure to handle the problems of life properly may lead to bitterness which in turn becomes sinful.

– Job was required to acknowledge his error because his bitterness had led him to complain against God. Job had suffered initially through no fault of his own. The Scriptures plainly say that he was upright before God. However, he allowed his bitterness and resentment because of his suffering to lead him to complain against God and blame God improperly.

Job 42:1–5 KJV 1900

– Look carefully lest anyone fall short of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up cause trouble, and by this many become defiled. Sometimes bitterness begins because people fall short of the grace of God. But it may grow and create problems for other people. As a result many may become defiled.

Hebrews 12:15 KJV 1900

15 Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled;

– If you have bitter envy and self-seeking in your hearts, do not boast and lie against the truth. Bitterness is often caused by selfishness and envy, and it often leads to them.

James 3:14 KJV 1900

14 But if ye have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, glory not, and lie not against the truth.

So again, bitterness is often associated with sin. It may be the result of sin. Or when we suffer through no fault of our own, we may respond improperly, which in turn may lead to sin.

When sin is the cause of our bitterness or when it is the result of our bitterness, in either case we must seek God’s forgiveness.

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Romans 4:13 KJV 1900

13 For the promise, that he should be the heir of the world, was not to Abraham, or to his seed, through the law, but through the righteousness of faith.

Romans 4:14 KJV 1900

14 For if they which are of the law be heirs, faith is made void, and the promise made of none effect:

2 Chronicles 33:12 KJV 1900

12 And when he was in affliction, he besought the Lord his God, and humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers,

2 Chronicles 33:13 KJV 1900

13 And prayed unto him: and he was intreated of him, and heard his supplication, and brought him again to Jerusalem into his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the Lord he was God.

Conclusions

This study has focused on a specific area of negative thinking, but the principles we have learned also apply to other related problems including worry and anxiety, depression, and desire for vengeance. If you are struggling with these thought patterns, I encourage you to think seriously about the principles in this lesson.

The passages we have studied do not teach that it is always wrong to think about the fact that others mistreat us. Moses, Jesus, the apostles, and other faithful servants were aware of their mistreatment and thought about it. When people did wrong it was because they did not react properly to the mistreatment.

So, let us summarize the lessons to be learned:

The dangers of bitter resentment and self-pity:

* We may blame God for our problems or fail to trust Him to truly meet our needs.

* We may imagine that others have mistreated us and falsely accuse those who are innocent.

* We may seek vengeance or try to hurt those who have mistreated us.

* We may hold grudges and fail to truly forgive those who repent and ask forgiveness.

* We may envy those who are wicked, wishing we could avoid God’s requirements.

* We may fail to recognize and appreciate God’s blessings.

* We may mistreat those around us rather than recognizing the good they do us.

* We may neglect to fulfill our responsibilities because we are wallowing in self-pity.

Steps to overcoming the dangers of bitter resentment and self-pity:

* Pray and study God’s word.

* Trust God that He knows what is best and His word is right.

* Dwell on the blessings of God and appreciate the good He does.

* Appreciate the good others do and be sure to treat those around you properly.

* Consider the needs of others and focus on solving problems.

* Remember your responsibilities and go to work on the tasks God has for you.

* Seek forgiveness for your sins.

* Focus on your eternal reward rather than discouraging yourself with self-pity.

Do you find yourself, like me, at times brooding and feeling sorry for yourself with bitter feelings because you think others around you mistreat you or cause problems for you because they act improperly? If so, I challenge you to take to heart the principles we have studied.

– Rather than feeling anxious, we must go to God in prayer seeking His help with our problems. We must be grateful for the many good blessings that He has given us. We must focus our thoughts on those things that are pure and virtuous and praiseworthy, etc. The end result will give us peace that passes understanding.

Philippians 4:6–8 KJV 1900

6 Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. 7 And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. 8 Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.

Do you have sins in your life that you need to correct in order to receive God’s forgiveness? Do you need to become a child of God by repenting of your sins, confessing Christ, and being baptized? Has bitterness or some other temptation in life led you into error? If so, why not obey the gospel teaching and be forgiven of your sins?

BITTERNESS! - The Deadly Root that Devours and Destroys!

Compiled from the teachings of David Brandt Berg and his wife, Maria. Compiled by Apollos

I. THE HORRIBLE EFFECTS OF BITTERNESS!

A. It Will Hinder Your Relationship with the Lord and Your Service for Him!

B. Bitterness Opens the Door to the Enemy!

C. Bitterness Will Even Affect You Physically!

D. Bitterness Will Hurt and "Defile" Many Others!

II. WHY DO PEOPLE BECOME BITTER?

A. Fiery Trials: Will They Make You Bitter or Better?

B. Putting the Blame on God!

C. Putting the Blame on Others!

D. Bitter and Hateful Thoughts: The Devil's Evil Seeds!

E. The Voice of Bitterness: Murmuring!

III. HOW TO AVOID BITTERNESS!

A. Love Is the Most Important Thing!

B. "Confess Your Faults One to Another!"--

James 5:16 KJV 1900

16 Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.

C. Keep a Positive and Thankful Outlook!

D. Guard Your Thoughts!

E. Take Things as from the Lord!--

Romans 8:28 KJV 1900

28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.

IV. HOW TO GET RID OF BITTERNESS!

A. Confess You've Got It!

B. Attack, Attack, Attack!

C. "Forgive Us Our Sins as We Forgive Others"

D. Spiritual Renewal!

V. A PRAYER FOR DELIVERANCE AGAINST BITTERNESS!

BITTERNESS! - The Deadly Root that Devours and Destroys!

"Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled."--.--Thus says God's Word about the adverse results of bitterness, a very poisonous root that can defile your whole spirit, and seriously hurt and defile many others as well!

Hebrews 12:15 KJV 1900

15 Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled;

One reason that bitterness is so extremely dangerous is because it can take root and begin to grow and spread and spiritually contaminate and defile your heart and spirit before you even realise what's wrong with you. Sinful human nature makes it very easy for us to rationalise and justify ourselves for harbouring hurt feelings or a grudge against others when we feel that they have wronged or mistreated us. In fact, we can even feel this way towards God!

Like the roots of most plants, little "roots" of resentment and bitterness usually lie below the surface where they remain unseen. But there they begin to spread and grow, going ever deeper and deeper. If allowed to continue, such roots of bitterness will eventually eat away at your very heart and spirit, until they will finally devour and destroy you spiritually!--Ultimately leaving you spiritually dead and virtually useless to the Lord!

Bitterness is very much like the South American vine known as the "matador." Beginning at the foot of a tree, the matador vine slowly works its way to the top. But as it grows, it kills the tree, and when at last the top is reached, it sends forth a flower to crown itself. Matador literally means KILLER. Bitterness may appear harmless when it is small, but if it is allowed to grow, its tendrils of resentment, malice and hatred soon clasp themselves around the heart and eventually kill the soul.

This is why God's Word exhorts us to "Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice."--. And that's what this lesson is all about: How to recognise, deal with and get rid of the deadly root known as bitterness, so that you may freely love and serve the Lord and others unhindered by this destructive device of the Devil!--That we may "lay aside every weight and the sin which doth so easily beset us!"--.

Ephesians 4:31 KJV 1900

31 Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice:

Hebrews 12:1 KJV 1900

1 Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,

I. THE HORRIBLE EFFECTS OF BITTERNESS!

A. It Will Hinder Your Relationship with the Lord and Your Service for Him!

When we're attacking the Enemy and doing all we can to conquer new territory and win new souls for God's Kingdom, the Devil, of course, is going to be quite busy trying to stop us!--And, thank God, he can't stop us if we don't let him. But if in some way you are harbouring his negative and destructive thoughts, listening to his debilitating doubts, or entertaining his faith-weakening fears, that is a partial surrender to the Enemy.--And any surrender to the Devil is always going to cause you trouble!

If you allow bitterness and resentment and a critical spirit to grow in your life, you will lose your anointing and your inspiration from the Lord. You can't keep complaining about and resenting your lot in life, and criticising and murmuring about things that God or others have done to you, and keep God's Holy Spirit on you at the same time. You just can't do it. The Lord dwells in the praises of His people, and He draws near to us when we draw near to Him, "offering the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to His name."--; ; .

Psalm 22:3 KJV 1900

3 But thou art holy, O thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel.

James 4:8 KJV 1900

8 Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.

Hebrews 13:15 KJV 1900

15 By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name.

"But without faith it is impossible to please Him."--. If you don't accept the things that the Lord sends into your life, if you not only doubt and wonder about His treatment and care of you, but actually murmur and resent and rebel against it, that's certainly not faith, and surely displeases the Lord!

Hebrews 11:6 KJV 1900

6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

And if you allow that root of bitterness to take hold in your heart and life, it will cause you to fail both the Lord and yourself. Such a root can go a Hell of a long way, and can ultimately destroy you.--It can at least destroy your ministry, and your effectiveness for the Lord, and it can even harm the entire Work of God that you're supposed to be helping.

The way that bitterness can hinder your ministry and effectiveness is illustrated in the following true story about the great artist and engineer, Leonardo da Vinci: Just before he commenced work on his famous painting of "The Last Supper" he had a violent quarrel with a fellow painter. He was so enraged and bitter that he decided to paint the face of his enemy, the other artist, into the face of Judas, and thus take his revenge by handing the man down in infamy and scorn to succeeding generations. The face of Judas was therefore one of the first that he finished, and everyone could easily recognise it as the face of the painter with whom da Vinci had quarreled.

But when he came to paint the face of Jesus, he could make no progress. Something seemed to be baffling him, holding him back, frustrating his best efforts. At length he came to the conclusion that the thing that was checking and frustrating him was the fact that he had painted his enemy into the face of Judas. He therefore painted out the face of Judas and commenced anew on the face of Jesus, and this time with the success which the ages have acclaimed.

How clearly this incident shows us that we cannot at one and the same time be painting the features of Christ into our own life, and be painting another face with the colours of enmity and hatred. To become more Christ-like, and to accomplish what the Lord wants you to do, surely all bitterness and hatred must be "put away" and "laid aside."

B. Bitterness Opens the Door to the Enemy!

To wilfully allow little roots of bitterness to grow in your life is like knowingly letting the Devil in! Such discontentment and resentment and murmuring in your heart will just grow and grow and begin to cover and affect everything around you. That's what bitterness does.--Which is why you've got to try to catch it at the very beginning before it takes root too deeply, and root it out!

This is why the Lord tells us, "Neither give place to the Devil!"--. This verse shows that you can sometimes give the Devil place and room to operate and get in without necessarily being completely taken over or possessed by him. But let me warn you, he'll use whatever you let him get ahold of, so you'd better resist and give him no place!--So beware of letting the Enemy in through the little seeds and tiny roots of jealousy, murmuring or bitterness that he may try to sow in your heart!

Ephesians 4:27 KJV 1900

27 Neither give place to the devil.

C. Bitterness Will Even Affect You Physically!

The affairs of the heart and affairs of the spirit can affect you physically! In medical science they call such afflictions "psychosomatic" illnesses, which means they are caused by your mind. But we'd say they're caused by your spirit, by an improper attitude of heart, primarily a lack of love for the Lord and others.

There are all kinds of little roots, little roots of bitterness, little roots of jealousy, little roots of resentment, little roots of hurt feelings, and they can all get pretty bitter and they can all grow and they will all begin to eat on you from within, if you let them.--Until pretty soon they will crop out in very obvious or even physical manifestations.

Doctors have found that people who are bitter and have a lot of hatred in their hearts, have much more arthritis than those who are at peace. Similarly, they've discovered that those who have a lot of fear in their minds--worries, tension, phobias, etc.--have a lot more mental trouble and more stomach trouble, as well as more heart trouble.

Thank God that the elimination of fear by faith gives peace of mind and rest to your stomach and to your heart, and actually eliminates various poisons from the blood which cause illness. In other words, your state of mind and heart can actually poison your body. Science knows this and has proven it true.

D. Bitterness Will Hurt and "Defile" Many Others!

How can one individual's bitterness "defile many"? Well, there are several ways. For one thing, people who are really bitter about one thing, will easily become bitter about other things too. It's usually because they never blame themselves for anything that seems to go wrong, they're always blaming other people, similar to the self-righteous hypocrite who never blames himself either.

People who are discontent and murmuring and resentful and critical are usually never satisfied unless they can persuade others of their own opinion. Misery loves company, and they love to have other people agree with them; and sad to say, it's usually easy to find'm. Belly-aching, murmuring and complaining is a very common ailment of the human race and something that is very easy to fall into. But from God's point of view, it is a sin that is absolutely intolerable. Just read the story of the wandering Children of Israel and you'll see how He let millions of people rot in the Sinaitic Desert for their murmuring and their complaining, and they never got into the Promised Land! (.)

Numbers 32:11–13 KJV 1900

11 Surely none of the men that came up out of Egypt, from twenty years old and upward, shall see the land which I sware unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob; because they have not wholly followed me: 12 Save Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenezite, and Joshua the son of Nun: for they have wholly followed the Lord. 13 And the Lord’s anger was kindled against Israel, and he made them wander in the wilderness forty years, until all the generation, that had done evil in the sight of the Lord, was consumed.

Bitterness and murmuring are a very infectious spiritual disease, diabolical, and can spread and poison others very quickly if left unchecked. One bad apple can do it so fast! The Bible warns us, "Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump? Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump!"--,. Just like a tiny pinch of yeast will spread throughout an entire "lump" of dough and cause the whole thing to rise, people who are permeated with bitterness are a real burden and a real downer influence, and will drag everybody down that they can, pulling everybody's spirits down. They're always dwelling on the negative and always criticizing and always murmuring.

1 Corinthians 5:6 KJV 1900

6 Your glorying is not good. Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump?

1 Corinthians 5:7 KJV 1900

7 Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us:

BITTERNESS! - The Deadly Root that Devours and Destroys!

Compiled from the teachings of David Brandt Berg and his wife, Maria. Compiled by Apollos

Part II. WHY DO PEOPLE BECOME BITTER?

When the Lord doesn't do things just the way some people want Him to, they get bitter against Him. They get upset and angry at the Lord because He didn't do just exactly what they wanted Him to do. They're obviously lacking in faith and not trusting God, that He knows what's best.

God's Word tells us to "Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths."--,. But if you're looking at conditions instead of God, you're going to have problems! You've got to keep your eyes on God. You've got to look to the Lord. You've got to see God and "walk by faith, not by sight!"--. When Moses was having a rough time, we're told that "he endured, as seeing Him Who is invisible."--.

Proverbs 3:5 KJV 1900

5 Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; And lean not unto thine own understanding.

Proverbs 3:6 KJV 1900

6 In all thy ways acknowledge him, And he shall direct thy paths.

2 Corinthians 5:7 KJV 1900

7 (For we walk by faith, not by sight:)

Hebrews 11:27 KJV 1900

27 By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king: for he endured, as seeing him who is invisible.

Sometimes the Lord does things--or allows things to happen--in our lives to test our faith and draw us closer to Him. He loves us and is concerned about us and frequently allows things to happen to loosen our grip on the things of Earth and tighten our hold on Him and the Eternal Heavenly values. But if we don't receive the Lord's dealings with us, if we reject and refuse to accept them, then we become hardened, and even the Word, God's Truth, will lose its effect on us.

When people refuse to change or adapt to changes or forsakings or breakings, they sometimes get mean and bitter about not having what they used to have. They're unwilling to "take joyfully the spoiling of their goods" (), to take their losses and learn the lessons from it that God is trying to teach them.

Hebrews 10:34 KJV 1900

34 For ye had compassion of me in my bonds, and took joyfully the spoiling of your goods, knowing in yourselves that ye have in heaven a better and an enduring substance.

Tough trials and tests can either melt you or harden you!--Which is why you've got to watch out and "look diligently" that they don't harden you and make you bitter and hateful! If you will let the trials humble you and melt you, you'll be a lot happier, and you'll find the Lord's Love in a new and closer way. But if you, in pride, harden your heart and say with "Invictus"--"I am the Captain of my fate, I am the Master of my soul! My head is bloody but unbowed," you will wind up sorely off the track and become a great disappointment to God!

Pride is what causes people to be bitter! It's because of pride that people become bitter instead of yielding and becoming broken and soft through their trials. Pride is why they refuse to "bow" to the Lord and surrender their all to Him!

So bitterness is a form of pride. People who are bitter usually feel that someone--either God or Man--has treated them unfairly. They're bitter because they feel like they deserve to be treated better. They feel they've been mistreated, abused, they don't deserve what they're getting. They feel they're better than that.

Another reason that people get bitter about their lot in life is because they get their eyes off of the Lord and on others.--And they begin "comparing themselves among themselves," and in so doing, "are not wise!"--. When you start comparing yourself to others, and how the Lord has dealt with you compared to how he's dealt with others, it's very easy for the Enemy to tempt you with jealousy, bitterness, doubts etc.

2 Corinthians 10:12 KJV 1900

12 For we dare not make ourselves of the number, or compare ourselves with some that commend themselves: but they measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise.

For example, say the Lord's required you to make a great sacrifice of mate or children or position, in order for you to continue growing and being fruitful in His Service. If you unwisely compare your situation to someone else who hasn't been required to make the same sacrifice that you were, you could easily begin to feel discontented and resentful.--"How come I had to give up all of this and that, and they didn't?"

The thing that people fail to realise when they fall into this pit of comparing themselves to others is that the Lord handles all of us differently.--And what's good for you, may not be good for someone else! The Lord knows what's best for us, so He gives us all what He knows will help us each to grow the most and learn the particular lessons He is trying to teach us.

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When dear Apostle Peter was told by the Lord that he would suffer a martyr's death, he asked Jesus, "What about John, what will happen to him?" Jesus gently chided him not to worry about John and replied, "If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee?--Follow thou Me!"--. How the Lord deals with others isn't really your concern, "What is that to thee?"

John 21:22 KJV 1900

22 Jesus saith unto him, If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee? follow thou me.

"Every man shall give account of himself to God"--.--And your main concern shouldn't be, "But Lord, if You're requiring all of this of me, what about my brother here?--What are You gonna require of him?" You just need to trust the Lord and "follow thou Jesus" and do your best for Him! 'Cause if you begin comparing God's dealings with you to His dealings with others, you're just opening the door for the Enemy's thoughts of discontentment, murmuring, resentment and bitterness.--No wonder the Bible says that such comparisons are "NOT wise!"

Romans 14:12 KJV 1900

12 So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God.

Some people's problems with bitterness go a long way back. Because they refused to humble themselves and yield and accept what God was trying to do in their lives, and they refused to forgive and forget whatever anyone did to them, that little root of resentment that began growing in their hearts long ago, continues to grow and grow. And after a while, it becomes a big tree!

To stubbornly refuse to accept God's dealings in your life is to "suffer so many things in vain."--. How sad to go through big trials and testings and not learn the lessons God is trying to teach you from them. His Word says, "No chastening for the present seems to be joyous, but grievous, nevertheless afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby."--. But sad to say, everybody's trials don't always yield the "peaceable fruit of righteousness." Sometimes they end up being bitter because they refused to be "exercised" thereby, and they won't learn their lesson!

Galatians 3:4 KJV 1900

4 Have ye suffered so many things in vain? if it be yet in vain.

Hebrews 12:11 KJV 1900

11 Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby.

A. Fiery Trials: Will They Make You Bitter or Better?

"Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you. That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ."--; .

1 Peter 4:12 KJV 1900

12 Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you:

1 Peter 1:7 KJV 1900

7 That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:

The Lord sometimes lets things happen that we don't understand to test us and try us. He places us in the refining fires of His trials and testings to bring us to a boil, so all the scum and dross come to the surface and can be purged out. That's what the fire's for--to bring out the meanness in us and to get rid of it.

Suffering is God's catalyst, God's test tube. It either reveals that we have already got the grace to take it by faith, or it helps to turn us to grace and cause us to call upon God and to seek His mercy and His Love and His deliverance. Of course, in some cases, suffering can cause people who are rebellious and unyielded to the Lord to rebel all the more!

Suffering makes you either sweet or bitter, one or the other, one extreme or the other.--It's up to you. It will either humble you or harden you.

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You can often see this in older people. As the years pass by, people go one way or the other, there's no standing still. They get more mellow and mild, soft and more tender, or they get harder, one or the other. My mother used to say that some old people are well-preserved, and others are just well-pickled!--They've gotten so sour and dour and miserable and unhappy.

The sorrow, the suffering, the sacrifice and sadness you go through will bring out the best in you--sweetness, compassion, love, tenderness, brokenness, love and concern for others--if you love the Lord and turn to Him when you go through such trials. He says, "Let them that suffer according to the Will of God commit the keeping of their souls to Him in well doing, as unto a faithful Creator."--.

1 Peter 4:19 KJV 1900

19 Wherefore let them that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their souls to him in well doing, as unto a faithful Creator.

Of course, when you go through such tests and trials, it never "seems to be joyous, but grievous."--And the Devil will do all he can to try to convince you that God doesn't love you and that He doesn't answer prayer!--But what's really happening is that the Lord is letting your faith be tested, to see how much you really love the Lord and what price you're willing to pay to serve Him!

When going through severe soul-trying times of testing, we're often tempted to question the Lord, "Why me, Lord? Why did You let this happen to me?" We know from His Word that He allows such trials to test our faith and to test our love, just like He did with Job. Such tests actually strengthen your faith and cause you to love and believe in God no matter what, to not doubt no matter what happens.--As Job finally said, "Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him!"--. And when he finally took a stand like that, he got the victory. The Devil gave up and saw he couldn't make Job quit, even if he killed him.

Job 13:15 KJV 1900

15 Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him: But I will maintain mine own ways before him.

Even Job's wife told him, "Why don't you just curse God and die, you miserable man!" Just think, he even lost the love and respect of his own wife. He'd lost all his children, lost all his wealth, lost his health and then he lost his wife! As Job sat there in ashes, pitifully scraping his boils with a potsherd, she taunted, "Why don't you just curse God and die and get out of the way!" But he rebuked her and said, "Thou speakest as one of the foolish women speaketh! What? Shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil?" God's Word then says, "In all this Job did not sin with his lips."--.

Job 2:7–10 KJV 1900

7 So went Satan forth from the presence of the Lord, and smote Job with sore boils from the sole of his foot unto his crown. 8 And he took him a potsherd to scrape himself withal; and he sat down among the ashes. 9 Then said his wife unto him, Dost thou still retain thine integrity? curse God, and die. 10 But he said unto her, Thou speakest as one of the foolish women speaketh. What? shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil? In all this did not Job sin with his lips.

Earlier, Satan himself had told God that Job would curse Him to His face if he lost his possessions and position. (; .) But when calamity after calamity befell dear Job, he passed the test and proved what a liar the Devil is! He didn't harden his heart and heed the Devil's voice through his wife or bitterly turn against God. Instead, "Job arose and rent his mantle and shaved his head and fell down upon the ground and worshipped. And said, `Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither: The Lord gave and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the Name of the Lord!' In all this Job sinned not, nor charged God foolishly."--.

Job 1:11 KJV 1900

11 But put forth thine hand now, and touch all that he hath, and he will curse thee to thy face.

Job 2:5 KJV 1900

5 But put forth thine hand now, and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will curse thee to thy face.

Job 1:20–22 KJV 1900

20 Then Job arose, and rent his mantle, and shaved his head, and fell down upon the ground, and worshipped, 21 And said, Naked came I out of my mother’s womb, And naked shall I return thither: The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; Blessed be the name of the Lord. 22 In all this Job sinned not, nor charged God foolishly.

But some people really have to go through a lot before they humble themselves and receive God's dealings with them. In fact, some people never seem to get the point and they never allow themselves to get humbled and they never surrender their own stubborn will and proud independent spirit to God! They never cry out to the Lord for deliverance. They never admit that they can't make it on their own. They just never give up trying to do things their own way, they never ever say "Uncle!" or "Lord, You win, I surrender!"

Some people even get mad at God for dealing with them! They get mad and mean and they curse God and wind up in an even worse state than they were before He tested them or tried to straighten them out!

But the Lord won't force you to humble yourself and yield and draw closer to Him! The breaking process depends upon you and your yieldedness and willingness to be made willing! So try to take your testings and your temptations without sin and without rebellion, murmuring or bitterness! The Lord promises that He will never give you more than you're able to bear, and that He will always make a way of escape. (.) He'll somehow make it easier for you or at least help you to bear it. So "harden not your heart" but "cast thy burden upon the Lord, and He shall sustain thee!"--; .

1 Corinthians 10:13 KJV 1900

13 There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.

Hebrews 3:8 KJV 1900

8 Harden not your hearts, as in the provocation, in the day of temptation in the wilderness:

Psalm 55:22 KJV 1900

22 Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and he shall sustain thee: He shall never suffer the righteous to be moved.

Things will be a lot easier for you if you will just accept what the Lord is trying to do in your life, if you will receive the breakings and the chastisements and the lessons, if you don't fight against them, if you'll just seek the Lord and yield to Him. Remember, He loves you, and whatever He does to you, His Own child, He does it in love.--For your good. So for God's sake, and your own sake, "Humble yourself therefore under the mighty hand of God" (), and don't get hardened and bitter! Get better and not bitter!--Amen?

1 Peter 5:6 KJV 1900

6 Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time:

B. Putting the Blame on God!

Self-righteous people always blame God for their problems and troubles instead of themselves, or instead of accepting the trials as something that God has sent their way for whatever reason. Some people are so self-righteous they wonder, "How could God ever do such a thing to me? How could the Lord treat me this way when I'm so good to Him?" They resent God's dealings with them.

That is actually one of the worst sins of all, to even have the slightest idea that you're a little bit more righteous than God, that God shouldn't have done this or that to you! That kind of attitude is the very seed and the very root of murmuring! When you question the Lord and murmur like that, what you're really saying is that you're more righteous than God!--Or others!--That if you were boss, you wouldn't have let such a thing happen, and you would have done better and you wouldn't have done this or you wouldn't have done that!

When any of us face any kind of a crisis or dilemma, test, trial, tribulation, privation, persecution--whatever the trouble or problem--what is the first thing we should do?--Complain? Murmur? Get upset and angry that things aren't going just the way we would like them to?--Of course not!

But when things seem to be going wrong, the first thing a lot of people do is pray and say, "What's the matter, Lord?"--And when some people say that, what they really mean is, "What's the matter with You, God? How come You failed me?" Whereas what we should really pray is, "What's the matter with me, Lord? Is there something wrong with what I'm doing? Am I displeasing You in any way?--Am I failing or disobeying You in any way? Am I out of Your Will in any way? First of all, what's the matter with me, Lord, or my situation? What's wrong?--Or are You just testing me?"

Contrary to what a lot of people seem to think when they start having problems and trials, there's nothing wrong with God! There's nothing the matter with Him, nor His Love, nor His dealings with His children! The problem is usually with us.--As He says in His Word, "Your iniquities have separated and come between you and your God, and your sins have hid His face from you, that He will not hear."--.

Isaiah 59:2 KJV 1900

2 But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, And your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear.

He says, "I'm not deaf that I can't hear your prayers, I'm listening!--And My arm isn't short or weak that it can't save and help you. The trouble is not Up Here, it's down there with you!"--With us, not God! So don't blame God and get upset at Him because of your troubles and your problems and your crises and your difficulties! It's not God's fault! There's nothing wrong with God! "Let every man be found a liar, but God be found true!"--.

Romans 3:4 KJV 1900

4 God forbid: yea, let God be true, but every man a liar; as it is written, That thou mightest be justified in thy sayings, and mightest overcome when thou art judged.

The most important thing you have to do during trying times is not whine and complain and murmur and gripe and grumble and bellyache and get bitter at God for His so-called failures and mistreatment and His neglect and His abuse and His cruelty and His deafness and His unconcern!--Because none of those things are true! You need to do the opposite of what the children of Israel did out in the wilderness, and that is, you need to sit down and think the situation over and pray:

"God, what's wrong with me? What's wrong with what I'm doing or the way I'm doing it? What am I doing that's displeasing You so that You're withholding Your blessings? In what way am I disobeying--either deliberately, wilfully, or unknowingly, unwittingly, or simply falling short, maybe just not doing enough? Or maybe I'm not listening enough, maybe I'm not following Your voice and guidance enough.--Or are You simply testing my faith or humbling me and trying to get me to draw closer to You?"

C. Putting the Blame on Others!

It's human nature to look around for somebody else to blame our problems on. "Passing the buck" started in the Garden of Eden. It's sinful Man's first line of defense when he's in trouble.--To blame others.

Just look what happened in the Garden of Eden: When they got caught in their sin, the first thing Adam said to God was, "It was my wife, she did it!" Then Eve said, "It was the Serpent's fault, he did it!" And the Serpent as good as said, "It was God, it's all His fault!" (.) To "pass the buck" and try to blame things on others is an almost automatic reaction and self-defense mechanism with most people.

Genesis 3:12–13 KJV 1900

12 And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat. 13 And the Lord God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.

People who are bitter and have a bitter spirit are especially prone to this sort of thing. They're always blaming everybody else for all of their mistakes and all of their troubles and failings. It's always somebody else's fault.

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If you have a problem or weakness along these lines, you'd be wise to remember that the Devil is the "Accuser of the Saints" (), and that's his own tactic to always try to get you to blame your problems on everybody else! "Why me, Lord? I didn't do it, they did it to me! It wasn't my fault, it's his fault, her fault! They're the ones to blame! They're the ones who made me do it!" Some people find it so easy and convenient to blame all their troubles on somebody else!--"It's that awful Hell of a person I have to live with or that horrible leader I have to work under"--or this one or that one!

Revelation 12:10 KJV 1900

10 And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night.

This is such a typical device of the Devil: He always accuses the Saints and always exaggerates to you what others are doing, and will always try to take things that others have said or done and twist them and make things sound a lot worse to you than they really are.--He even does the same thing to God about you! He's an expert at picking on all the little flaws and all the little faults that he can find, and constantly tries to accuse others and get you to blame everything that goes wrong on someone else!

But if you won't accept the responsibility for your own problems and you continually blame them on others, you're just going to go through your entire life never getting the victory or making any progress! How can you ever grow spiritually or learn any lessons from the Lord when you're self-righteously blaming other people for everything bad that ever happens to you?

Even if you feel that you have been genuinely mistreated or misjudged or whatever by others, instead of sulking and pouting and licking your wounds, you might find it's very profitable to look a little deeper and see if the Lord is trying to get through to you on some other point or issue that's even more serious than whatever it is you feel so mistreated or misunderstood about! Don't be too quick to judge and blame others when you might need to work on the beam in your own eye, and not be so concerned about the mote in your brother's eye. Amen?

D. Bitter and Hateful Thoughts: The Devil's Evil Seeds!

Although "evil thoughts proceed out of the heart of men" (), we should not be ignorant of the fact that bitter, hateful and resentful thoughts are also a "device of the Devil" () that he frequently attacks God's children with. Our spiritual Enemy is always looking for a weakness, a way to enter our defenses. He is always seeking to cast his "fiery darts" () into the city of our fellowship, trying to sow the evil seeds of dissension, jealousy, covetousness, bickering, selfishness, and internal discord.

Mark 7:21 KJV 1900

21 For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders,

2 Corinthians 2:11 KJV 1900

11 Lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices.

Ephesians 6:16 KJV 1900

16 Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.

So we all need to be watchful and on guard against such thoughts towards others. "Be sober, be vigilant, because your adversary the Devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour."--.

1 Peter 5:8 KJV 1900

8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:

When the Enemy is out to poison and "defile" you with bitter and hateful thoughts, he's usually very subtle about it. He tries to make his poison look very attractive, offering it to you as something that you want to take. The Devil almost always sugar-coats his pills with enough truth to trick people who don't know better than believing and swallowing them.

When I was a little boy, when they gave you pills and capsules, they started to put a coat of candy on the outside so the children would be willing to swallow them, because they thought it was candy. But inside it was bitter, horrible-tasting medicine.--And that's the way the Devil's lies are; no matter how he sugar coats them to tempt you or to suit your taste, no matter how much truth he may use to get you to harbour bitter thoughts against somebody, his thoughts are a bitter pill to swallow, and will make you bitter if you do!

That's why it's extremely dangerous to allow even a little bitterness, resentment or a critical spirit to creep in. The Enemy will use it as a channel, especially if there's some motivation of jealousy or pride or desire to vindicate or avenge yourself, or even to just feel sorry for yourself, or excuse yourself. You may think, "Oh, just this one little tiny seed, just this little bit of a grudge or gripe against them, it's not so bad.--Besides, they deserve it!" But that little crack in your spiritual armour is where the Devil will begin to seep in, and his gas of deceit then begins to poison your mind because you've opened the door to him, and pretty soon you're totally off the track!

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As long as you leave a window open, you're not going to get rid of a roomful of flies. Likewise, you're not going to get rid of the Devil and his annoyances until you force them out and close the door or the windows so they can't come back in! But as long as you're harbouring bitterness or hatred in your life, that just lets the Enemy in, it's leaving the door wide open.

My Mother used to say, the Devil knocks on some people's door and they just throw it open and say, "Come on in, Mr. Devil, come in, Mrs. Devil and all your little doubts and doubtlets! Here are some comfy chairs, sit down and talk to me and let's have a nice visit, let's hear all that you have to say!" Instead of that, when you first hear the Enemy's knock at the door in your thoughts, in your mind and heart, as soon as you recognise who it is, you should slam the door in his face so quick it cuts his nose off! You shouldn't even listen to his first doubt, his first evil thought or "fiery dart"!

That's where Eve made her mistake. Her first mistake was stopping to listen to the Devil. When he puts negative or critical or doubtful thoughts in your mind, don't even listen. Resist him! Rebuke him in Jesus' name and start praising God and thanking the Lord for all your blessings! Get off the Devil's negative channel and think of the positive! When Eve stopped to listen, pretty soon she was believing him. So don't listen to him at all!--"Neither give place to the Devil!"--. Listen to Jesus, read His Word, study and memorise it and praise the Lord, and the Enemy will flee!

Ephesians 4:27 KJV 1900

27 Neither give place to the devil.

E. The Voice of Bitterness: Murmuring!

Whenever you feel like murmuring and griping about things, watch out! Such an unthankful, doubtful and negative attitude may not only be an indication of bitterness, but of backsliding as well! Even if you haven't actually turned your back on the Lord, you're turning back in your heart when you start yielding to that feeling of doubting, murmuring and being critical of everybody else. When people start picking out others' faults and covering their own, and murmuring and griping about everything, complaining instead of praising the Lord for what they've got, it's a dangerous sin!

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Even if you don't wind up completely backsliding, you'll certainly lose your inspiration and the Lord's anointing if you go around voicing complaints and resentments like that. You can't keep complaining and criticising and murmuring and belly-aching about things and still keep God's Holy Spirit on you for your job, you just can't do it. You'll wind up like Saul, the Spirit left him, and he became so damned hardened of heart and cold, he didn't even know it was gone! He didn't even know he had lost it.

When someone's going around murmuring and constantly being critical of everything, it shows that they've been entertaining the Devil's lies in their mind and heart, "for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh."--. Then they become a witness for the Devil. If your heart is filled with negative thoughts, sooner or later you'll mouth them, and that's when you really begin to pull others down too.

Matthew 12:34 KJV 1900

34 O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.

One reason that people complain and bellyache and criticise is because they know that they're not making it themselves and that they haven't got the victory.--They know that they're failing because of their own unyieldedness or rebelliousness. So rather than really trying to make it and stop failing and do better, they start looking around for something to justify themselves, to excuse themselves and vindicate themselves. So they frequently accuse and blame everybody else for their own faults and failures, and will freely criticise everybody else but themselves.

Such murmuring is virtually the voice of the Enemy and his doubts, and a critical spirit like that sows dissension, disunity and discord amongst brethren, one of the seven abominations to God!--. So God certainly won't--and can't--bless people who allow themselves to fall into such a sorry state.

Proverbs 6:16–19 KJV 1900

16 These six things doth the Lord hate: Yea, seven are an abomination unto him: 17 A proud look, a lying tongue, And hands that shed innocent blood, 18 An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, Feet that be swift in running to mischief, 19 A false witness that speaketh lies, And he that soweth discord among brethren.

In fact, if you sin in murmuring against God, and complaining about your lot, complaining about the circumstances and conditions under which you're living, and griping and murmuring against God or your Shepherds or your brethren, God may just let you stay there much longer than He'd originally planned!--Like He did to the Children of Israel when they murmured against Him!--Until you learn to be thankful and patient! "Tribulation worketh patience!"--.

Romans 5:3 KJV 1900

3 And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience;

No matter how great your trial may be, no matter how difficult your difficulty may be, no matter how bad it may be, if you just have faith to trust God to bring you out of that difficulty, you won't murmur and complain! You'll rejoice and praise God and thank Him, even for the trial, because you know He is able to save and deliver you!--And He will! Praise the Lord!

BITTERNESS! - The Deadly Root that Devours and Destroys!

Compiled from the teachings of David Brandt Berg and his wife, Maria. Compiled by Apollos

III. HOW TO AVOID BITTERNESS!

The best way to avoid succumbing to bitterness--or any other serious spiritual problem, for that matter--is to stay "strong in the Lord and in the power of His might!"--.--And in the Word and prayer and the Spirit. If you have faith and confidence in the Lord and are strong in His Word and are putting your trust in Him, then the Lord will not allow the Enemy to overcome you with such problems.

Ephesians 6:10 KJV 1900

10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.

However, staying close to the Lord is not something you do only when you're praying and reading the Word, but it's a personal contact and relationship with Him that you've got to carry over into your daily life. The following sections deal further with specific steps to help you to be free from bitterness in your daily walk with the Lord and others.

A. Love Is the Most Important Thing!

The Bible tells us, "Above all things, have fervent love among yourselves; for love shall cover the multitude of sins."--. Love even loves the unlovely, and casts a veil over countless sins! It's hard for you to see anything good in someone you don't love. But if you really love someone, it's much easier to overlook and forgive their faults.

1 Peter 4:8 KJV 1900

8 And above all things have fervent charity among yourselves: for charity shall cover the multitude of sins.

If you have the Lord's Love and are loving towards others, you'll try to look on the bright side, and try to be optimistic and bring out the good things about people and see their good points. If you're trying to be loving and kind to people, you won't be harsh or critical or resentful towards them. But if you don't love them, they won't even be able to walk across the floor without your finding fault with the way they do it!

When you have real love for others, it's a lot easier for you to let things pass. In school they call it passing when you graduate from one grade to the next. When you're travelling along in a car, you know you're moving because you're passing things! That's how you know you're making progress, because you're passing things.

Well, the same thing is true in your spiritual life. When you start letting things pass, when you don't worry so much about things, that shows that you're making progress. When you don't hold it against somebody for some idle remark or something foolish that they did, something they said, when you don't get hypersensitive and all upset about it and hold it against them, then you're passing things. "Love covereth a multitude of sins," and will give you the grace and power to just let things pass, to forgive others as you know that you yourself need to be forgiven. This verse from my Mother's poem, "Let It Pass," brings this out very clearly:

Truly great folks never stoop To answer petty things; The unkind word, the bitter cut That rankles deep and stings. They are too big to notice them, They simply pass them by, And even with a smile sometimes Or twinkle in the eye. For they have found that after all 'Twas better in the end To meet it with a smile, and then, Just let it pass, my friend.

The Lord and His Love are the antidote for the poison of bitterness and hate. The Lord and His Holy Spirit always rebuke the Devil, the Accuser of the Saints, and resist him. And instead of emphasising the negative and accusing others, the Lord's Spirit will point out the good things about others. When we're staying close to the Lord, He is faithful to show us that nobody's perfect, including ourselves; we're all human, and that always helps us to have love and mercy and to forgive others all the more because we know we're not perfect either.

We all must ask the Lord in all humility to help us have mercy on others, knowing that we ourselves must also be forgiven for many sins. Remembering continually what sinners we are and how many mistakes we've made helps greatly to keep us humble and to avoid that spirit of self-righteous pride which causes us to criticise and condemn others. We need to "forgive one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven us."--. Pray for love!

Ephesians 4:32 KJV 1900

32 And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.

If you'll just forget yourself and think more about others, and really try to help and pray for and love them, you'll find that will solve almost all of your problems! If you get your mind off yourself and on others you'll find that this is what will bring you true joy and happiness. That's the formula for finding joy: Put Jesus first, then Others, and then You!--J.O.Y.! First of all, get your mind on Jesus, and then He'll help you get it on to your neighbour, and help you love him as yourself. Praise the Lord!

B. "Confess Your Faults One to Another!"--

James 5:16 KJV 1900

16 Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.

Even when you're serving the Lord and doing your best for Him, everything's not always perfect, and once in awhile a few things are bound to happen that you don't like. But when things like that happen, you should try to get it straightened out between you and the person it happened with, or between you and the Lord. Or at least tell your Shepherds about it. But don't hold it in your heart or go around behind people's backs murmuring and griping about it!

The Lord knows that it will only hurt you and drag you down if you hold onto such "offences."--That's why He says, "Let not the sun go down upon your wrath."--. If you go to bed mad and take your anger and frustration with you when you go to sleep, it just makes it last longer. It's terrible to go to sleep in that kind of a mood, out of the victory and angry or resentful towards someone else, it's really terrible.

Ephesians 4:26 KJV 1900

26 Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath:

Jesus made it very clear what you're supposed to do when you're hurt or offended or upset with someone. He said, "If thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother."--. And if you're the offending party, you're still supposed to go to your brother: "Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed."--. Of course, when going to someone about any such "oughts," be sure to ask the Lord to help you go in true love and humility, and be willing and open to hear any grievances or "oughts" that may be on their hearts.

Matthew 18:15 KJV 1900

15 Moreover if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother.

James 5:16 KJV 1900

16 Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.

But if you're too proud to admit it when you're upset at someone, if you're too proud to confess it and are unwilling to humbly ask for forgiveness and seek the Lord's solution, it can easily become a little root of bitterness in your heart.--And it will grow and eat at you just like a cancer.

Spiritually, if you keep little things like that in your heart and you don't get them out and confess them to the Lord and to the person involved and ask them to help you remove it and uproot it, to somehow get rid of it, it will eat and eat at you like a cancer! It usually starts just like a little tiny fiber, a tiny root, but it can grow and eat and eat away at you until finally it will devour you!

That's the way it is with those little offences and problems you have with others, or even with the Lord.--When something happens that offends or upsets you, and you hold it in, it's not confessed because you're too proud to be honest about it, it will fester and grow worse and cause you problems. It takes humility to be honest.

The Lord knows what trouble such "oughts" and offences can cause us if we harbour them in our hearts. This is why He said, "And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought (a grudge) against any: that your Father also which is in Heaven may forgive you your trespasses."--.

Mark 11:25 KJV 1900

25 And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.

The Lord not only tells us to make sure that we're not "holding a grudge" against anyone, but He also tells us that if we feel that someone is holding a grudge against us, we should do all we can to straighten that out as well. "Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee; Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift."--,.

Matthew 5:23 KJV 1900

23 Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee;

Matthew 5:24 KJV 1900

24 Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift.

So it's very important for you to get rid of those pent-up negative emotions. You need to get rid of them and to be humble and to confess when you need help or prayer. It's so much better to humble yourself and confess to others instead of just holding things in and not saying anything, which can easily lead to murmuring in your heart and cause you to become bitter and discontented!

C. Keep a Positive and Thankful Outlook!

One of the greatest things in the World that anyone can learn is to be content in whatsoever state you're in, whether it's to be abounding or to be in want.--,. That's certainly something that we've learned throughout our many years of serving the Lord. We've lived as poor as Job's turkey sometimes, but it seems like in recent years we've really abounded compared to how little we had before. We just learn to take the bitter with the sweet, whatever the Lord gives. We don't let circumstances cause us to become bitter!

Philippians 4:11 KJV 1900

11 Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.

Philippians 4:12 KJV 1900

12 I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need.

We all need to learn to count our blessings! The Lord wants us to think on the positive things, and refuse to set our minds on all the negative things and trials and doubts and fears and woes and troubles and tribulations and afflictions that the Devil tries to get us preoccupied with. You must get your mind off of all those negative things and think about your many blessings!

If you'd get into the habit of thanking God more for your blessings, your many many blessings, instead of complaining about the few tiny little infinitesimal problems or trials you may have, maybe the Lord would deliver you from those too! But when we don't look at anything but the button off of Mutt's vest instead of all the nice fine clothes and the bright red necktie, no wonder the Lord must get angry! (See ML #1492; ; !)

Numbers 11:1 KJV 1900

1 And when the people complained, it displeased the Lord: and the Lord heard it; and his anger was kindled; and the fire of the Lord burnt among them, and consumed them that were in the uttermost parts of the camp.

1 Corinthians 10:10 KJV 1900

10 Neither murmur ye, as some of them also murmured, and were destroyed of the destroyer.

The Lord tells us that we shouldn't think about those negative things at all! "Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things!"--. Whenever negative thoughts, criticisms or resentments come to your mind, you should right away rebuke the Enemy and say, "I rebuke you, Satan, in Jesus' name! I resist you, Accuser of the Saints, in Jesus' name! Jesus, help me not to think those thoughts!" Praise the Lord, quote Scripture, sing His praises, call on the Lord and the Devil will flee!

Philippians 4:8 KJV 1900

8 Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.

When Jonah finally shouted, "Salvation is of the Lord!", that old whale that had swallowed him just couldn't take it, and he spit him up! (,.) So even if God lets the Devil send along a whale-of-a-lot of trouble to swallow you up, you've just got to keep shouting and praising the Lord! The Devil can't stand that, and the trouble can't stand it, and God will deliver you! But if you get all down in the dumps and go around griping and bellyaching and murmuring and complaining and doubting and everything else, you'll just sink deeper and deeper to the bottom of the sea.

Jonah 2:9 KJV 1900

9 But I will sacrifice unto thee with the voice of thanksgiving; I will pay that that I have vowed. Salvation is of the Lord.

Jonah 2:10 KJV 1900

10 And the Lord spake unto the fish, and it vomited out Jonah upon the dry land.

So when the Enemy tempts you to get down and critical or murmuring about something, fight back by praising the Lord and counting your blessings! Ask the Lord to help you be content and thankful for your place in His Kingdom and in His Family. And when the Devil comes along and tries to get you to unfavourably compare yourself to others and tries to belittle you and what you're doing, just start praising the Lord and thanking Him for your blessings, and the Enemy will turn tail and run!

Thank God and praise Him for your job and your place in His Family, whatever it is! If you're mopping floors or cleaning toilets or cooking food or running errands or doing maintenance work, whatever it is, thank God that you're in the house of the Lord and you're doing it for Jesus! "I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of the Lord than to dwell in the tents of wickedness!"--.

Psalm 84:10 KJV 1900

10 For a day in thy courts is better than a thousand. I had rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God, Than to dwell in the tents of wickedness.

So whether abounding or abasing, we should be thankful for whatever we've got, and praise and thank God for it, because there's nothing any better! The very "worst" things in our life for the Lord are far better than the very best things the ungodly System has to offer! We're blessed with the best life in the World, the best work in the World, the best Love in the World, and the best Lord in the World--Out-of-this-World! Nothing could be better than God's Love and God's Word and God's Work and God's workers and their fellowship, and to be able to live and work together and love together in God's Kingdom for Him and for souls!--There's nothing better in this whole World, Praise the Lord! And if we're not happy enough now, when we see the eternal results of our labours Over There, we'll certainly be happy enough then!

Even when you're feeling good, maybe you don't thank the Lord enough for it and praise Him enough for it! "Let every thing that hath breath praise the Lord!"--. We could all praise the Lord more and be more positive! Thank Him for the health you do have! Thank Him for how strong you are and that you're not completely incapacitated, injured or sick with some fatal disease or something like that. All kinds of things could be wrong with you, so thank the Lord for the blessings you do have! Praise the Lord!--Stay positive, thankful and full of praise to Jesus!

Psalm 150:6 KJV 1900

6 Let every thing that hath breath praise the Lord. Praise ye the Lord.

D. Guard Your Thoughts!

The easiest way to prevent something from growing in your garden is to not let it get sown or planted there in the first place! And the best way to prevent any roots of bitterness from springing up in your life is to not let any bitter, critical or negative seeds find their way into the garden of your mind and heart.--Which means you've got to guard your thoughts and resist the Devil when he tries to sow his evil seeds and thoughts in your mind!

We all go through experiences sometimes where we listen to the Enemy instead of the Lord. In fact, the Lord lets us hear the Devil's voice and thoughts sometimes--even if it's only a test to see if we will receive or reject it.

Not all voices are of God, and you must learn to "try the spirits" () to make sure that what you're hearing is of the Lord. If it's not according to His Word, or causes you to be discontent or bitter, dissatisfied or unhappy or critical of yourself or others--these things are not of the Lord, and you must rebuke the Enemy in Jesus' name when he tempts you with these kinds of negative thoughts.

1 John 4:1 KJV 1900

1 Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.

You can't keep the Devil from saying things to you and tempting you to harbour negative thoughts or oughts against others, or even against the Lord. He will always try to speak to you and try to get you to let him have his evil way. But even if you're unable to keep from hearing him speak sometimes, you can always keep from doing what he says.

A lot of people feel bad and think that they must be terribly wicked because they think an unloving or sinful thought. But as my Mother used to say, "Even though you can't keep the birds from flying over your head, you can keep them from making a nest in your hair!" You can't keep the Devil from tempting you and casting his "fiery darts" at you and talking to you, but you don't have to talk back to him or open the door and invite him and all his little devils and doubts in!

You can militantly fight against even thinking about the critical, hateful, unkind, doubtful or fearful thoughts that the Enemy may attack or tempt you with! Resist all such thoughts and think positively! Think out loud by either quoting Scriptures or singing hymns or good Gospel songs. You can't very well quote Scripture and talk positively or sing out loud and have those other negative thoughts going through your head at the same time!

When a room is dark, you don't go around trying to chase the darkness out of the room.--You just let the light in and the light chases out the dark! So the way to get rid of temptations and negative thoughts is to think of good things, Godly things. Read your Bible, pray, think about Jesus, and then you don't even have time to think the other thoughts.--Which is why Isaiah says, "Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on Thee, because he trusteth in Thee."--. If you keep your mind on Jesus, you don't have time to think about these other things!--Sing!

Isaiah 26:3 KJV 1900

3 Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, Whose mind is stayed on thee: Because he trusteth in thee.

Fill your mind with the wonderful, powerful Word of God and you won't have room for that darkness! Fill your mind with the Light of God's Word and the darkness will flee! Don't even listen to the Devil's lies!--Because if you do, the same thing that happened to Eve will happen to you! So don't listen to his doubts and his fears and his discouragement and his temptations and all the rest! Sock him with the Word of God!

When you're tempted to think negative or resentful or critical or hateful thoughts against your brothers or sisters, remember that the Devil is the "Accuser of the Saints," and he will always try to accuse others and exaggerate their faults to you. He will even take innocent, unintentional remarks or acts and twist them and make them sound a lot worse than they really are. But once you can recognise that such negative and critical thoughts are the Enemy's attacks against you to separate and divide you from your brothers and sisters in the Lord, then you can slam the door on all such thoughts and take a definite positive stand against them.

When you have faith in God and His Word, then you know that the Devil is a liar, and when those kinds of bad and bitter thoughts come into your mind, you know it's the Devil speaking. So just say "I resist you, Satan, in Jesus' name! I resist you!" Because God's Word says if we resist the Enemy, he'll flee from us!--. Once you recognise such thoughts as the voice of Satan, you can just brush them aside. "I refuse to listen to you any more! I'm not going to listen to a liar, a deceiver and a cheat! That's not true, those are lies!" (or exaggerations, misinterpretations, half-truths, etc.)

James 4:7 KJV 1900

7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

Just fight the Devil positively when he tries to make you bitter or upset at others or at the Lord! Start singing a hymn or song to Jesus, pray and quote the Word of God! Just let the Light in and the darkness flees every time! When you're being tempted or attacked with negative or critical thoughts, you just have to be positive and attack back! You have to make a conscious effort to rebuke the Devil and think positive good thoughts instead. Amen?

If you watch your thoughts and watch your words and fill your heart and mind with the Lord and His Word, you will be well-protected and fortified and surrounded by God's Angels of protection, His Guardian Angels, and you will be free from the Enemy's critical and confusing static and negative accusations and doubts. In all the things you do all day long, in whatever you may do, in every activity of life and everything you do or say or even think, ask the Lord to help you to be constantly on guard. You can monitor your thoughts, monitor your words and monitor your actions just like we monitor videos!--Then you can always choose the good and eschew the evil. (.)

Romans 12:9 KJV 1900

9 Let love be without dissimulation. Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good.

E. Take Things as from the Lord!--

Romans 8:28 KJV 1900

28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.

When you begin to acknowledge the Lord in all your ways and take Him into account on everything, then no matter how bad or rough or trying a situation may seem, you know that He is in control. You know that He loves you and that He will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able! (.) And if you know that you're His child and His hand is on your life, then how can you get bitter and offended at Him? You know "He doeth all things well" (), and will never make a mistake in His dealings with you, His child whom He loves. Everything He does, He does in love.

1 Corinthians 10:13 KJV 1900

Mark 7:37 KJV 1900

37 And were beyond measure astonished, saying, He hath done all things well: he maketh both the deaf to hear, and the dumb to speak.

If you think of everything in relation to the Lord, then you get the right perspective, God's reasoning, Heavenly wisdom, "the wisdom that is from Above."--. When you think of all of your circumstances in relation to the Lord, then you realise it all has a purpose and that God did it for a reason.--A good reason!

James 3:17 KJV 1900

17 But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy.

If your eyes are on Jesus and you're "walking by faith and not by sight" (), then you're constantly aware that He--your great Shepherd--is with you and has everything under His control.--And this, of course, makes it much easier to "take" whatever He happens to send your way.

2 Corinthians 5:7 KJV 1900

7 (For we walk by faith, not by sight:)

He promises us, "All things work together for good to them that love God!"--. When you really believe this verse, then you know that the Lord never lets seemingly bad things happen to you without any rhyme or reason whatsoever. He only allows such things to happen for a good reason.--Sometimes we've been bad and we need correction, or we've been good and He just wants to make us better through these tests. As I've often said, sometimes God lets things happen just to humble us, and later on He may let things happen to us again to see if we're still humble.

Romans 8:28 KJV 1900

28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.

Nothing happens to you without the permission of God.--Or, I might add, your permission! In other words, sometimes you can get yourself into trouble by your own disobedience or unyieldedness to the Lord, by somehow stepping out of His Will. When this happens, God lets troubles befall us to teach us a lesson! So sometimes we get ourselves into fixes, and it's our own fault that we suffer the consequences.

The Lord often allows and uses people as His instruments to test us and do things that cause us problems because He is testing us to see what we're made of and how close we're going to stay to Him, how tightly we're going to cling to Him. He wants to see if any of these things will move us, and if our house is built on the Rock, Jesus Christ, and not on other people or leaders or circumstances. At the same time, He's trying to strengthen us.

When someone has mistreated us, if we really believe that the Lord loves us and is in control of our lives, can we say that God made a mistake, or even that He allowed a mistake to be made? In the final analysis, if you're going to blame someone for making a big mistake in your life, you've got to blame it on the Lord, right? If you really believe that the Lord is in control, then you've got to blame Him, right? If we don't believe that the Lord is in control and that the Lord is leading this outfit, then why are we even in the Family or serving the Lord at all?

If people really love the Lord, there are a lot of good lessons that He can teach them, no matter what happens to them.--Even if they're seemingly "unjustly" excommunicated!--Or if they're demoted to Babe's status or sent out of their mission field or whatever! If they really love the Lord and are in this Family because they're trying to serve Jesus, and their hearts are in the right place, they're not going to become all upset and bitter and backslide! The Lord will use the experience that was so difficult for them for their good, and not for bad, and they will learn lessons, draw closer to Him, and come through victorious in the end!

Your leadership may make a mistake with you, but the Lord doesn't, and even if He allowed you to be excommunicated, He did it for a reason. If you really believe God's Word, that the Lord never allows anything in the lives of His children except that which is for their good, to teach them lessons that they need to learn, lessons that they perhaps couldn't learn any other way, then you know He doesn't make mistakes!

There are lots of reasons why the Lord allows things that look like they're bad to happen in our lives, but He always does it for our good! If we don't believe that, then we're in the wrong outfit! We might as well give up and not even love the Lord or trust the Lord or serve the Lord at all if He is always making mistakes and He doesn't even know what's best! Who wants to serve a God like that? You've got to see the Lord's hand in your life, and you need to learn your lessons even from what may look like the "mistakes" or injustices of others, or whatever you're having a hard time accepting!--Then determine to serve the Lord in a much better, more dedicated and sacrificial way than ever before!

It's such a wonderful liberation when you really know and are fully persuaded that everything is under the Lord's control, His marvellous control! Nothing happens--not the things your leaders do, not even the things the Devil and his demons do--without the permission and the Will of God. The Enemy can't touch a hair of your head, he can't do a thing unless God allows it. This is why David could say, "All things come of Thee," both the good and the bad!--.

1 Chronicles 29:14 KJV 1900

14 But who am I, and what is my people, that we should be able to offer so willingly after this sort? for all things come of thee, and of thine own have we given thee.

So, thank the Lord for His loving care and marvellous control! Because we have the Lord and we have His Love and we have life and we have faith, therefore we have hope for better things, for the best, and we know that things are always going to turn out all right in the end. Praise the Lord!

BITTERNESS! - The Deadly Root that Devours and Destroys!

Compiled from the teachings of David Brandt Berg and his wife, Maria. Compiled by Apollos

IV. HOW TO GET RID OF BITTERNESS!

"All right," you may say, "This counsel on how to avoid becoming bitter is fine and good, but what do I do if I'm already bitter, if I've already allowed a `root of bitterness' to grow in my heart?--How do I get rid of it?" That's what our lesson will now deal with, how you can "Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you!"--.

Ephesians 4:31 KJV 1900

31 Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice:

Once God has pinned down a spiritual problem and given the answer and prescribed the cure, you then need to put it into effect.--And that's usually the hardest part, the spiritual operation. But in the case of a problem like bitterness, if you don't cut out the malignant root, it will kill you! Of course, rooting out can be painful, it's not a very easy job. If you've ever uprooted a plant you know what I mean. Sometimes it tears out some of the earth with it, like tearing out part of your heart.

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It's up to you to decide to be or not to be a certain way. In getting victories over deep-rooted problems, a lot has to do with your own will, your own desire. You have to decide that you really want to change, because if you don't, you won't! Of course, only God can fully deliver you from bitterness and its ill-effects, but you must be willing and yielded to Him, and make the decision that you want to be delivered without reservations!--The choice is yours!

A. Confess You've Got It!

Whenever any of us are diagnosed as having a serious spiritual disease such as bitterness, we have to face the facts and admit that we've got a problem. If we won't even face and admit our problems, we're never going to get the victory over them. If you don't recognise and expose the Enemy's work, how are you going to defeat him and get the victory over it?

The Lord promises deliverance and victory, and God says everything He can in His Word to encourage you to have faith to be delivered from your problems! But you can't be delivered and you can't even have faith for it unless you are obedient and honest and willing to confess your unrighteousness and your sins and your faults!

You'll never be able to correct the problem or find the solution if you deny it exists and keep saying everything is all right, perfectly all right.--That doesn't solve the problem at all. In fact, it makes it even worse! You'll never get the victory over such a problem until you honestly face it and confess it. "He that confesseth his sins," God's Word says, "shall have mercy. But he that covereth his sin shall not prosper!"--. So confess it and ask the Lord to forgive you for any bitterness you may be harbouring towards Him or others! If you're willing to recognise and face your problem, then you can attack it and overcome it!

Proverbs 28:13 KJV 1900

13 He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: But whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy.

If you realise how utterly deadly a "root of bitterness" is, you'll certainly want to confess, forsake and get rid of it!--Regardless of what it may cost you to do so! If you love the Lord and you want Him to "build and to plant" His wonderful life-giving fruits of love and mercy in your life and heart, you will do all you can to cooperate with Him to "root out, pull down, throw down and destroy" () any and all of the Enemy's death-dealing evil weeds, seeds and bitter roots that may have found a place in your heart!

Jeremiah 1:10 KJV 1900

10 See, I have this day set thee over the nations and over the kingdoms, to root out, and to pull down, and to destroy, and to throw down, to build, and to plant.

"Ye that love the Lord, hate evil!"--. It's been said that a good gardener has got to not only love flowers, but he needs to hate weeds as well. This principle aptly applies to you and the "garden" of your heart. Regardless of how justified you may feel about holding on to any hurts or resentments or wounds from your past, if you are a wise gardener at all, you'll believe the Master Gardener's Manual and its stern warnings about bitterness, and you'll realise that you must do all that you possibly can to rid your plot of this deadly root!--Lest your garden be absolutely overrun, destroyed and defiled by this horrible, nagging, choking "weed!"

Psalm 97:10 KJV 1900

10 Ye that love the Lord, hate evil: He preserveth the souls of his saints; He delivereth them out of the hand of the wicked.

B. Attack, Attack, Attack!

Once you've recognised that you have a problem with bitterness and you've admitted and confessed it, then you've got to take a positive and militant stand against it. God's Word tells us that we're "not to be ignorant of the Devil's devices," and once you recognise the poisonous root of bitterness for the deadly and soul-hindering device of the Devil that it really is, you've then got to launch an all-out spiritual attack against the Enemy himself!

You can't do business with the Devil by giving the least place to his evil thoughts against others or God! The only kind of business you can do with him is against him!--Fight him, curse him, curse his work and ask God to rebuke him and deliver you! Get rid of him! That's what you've got to do when his evil "birds" have built a nest of bitterness in your hair!

You've really got to go on the attack and you really have to be positive about it and resist the Enemy! Refuse to allow him any territory in your heart or mind. Rebuke the Devil and pray against any kind of critical spirit or bitter, proud and self-righteous attitude you may have developed towards others!--Or towards the Lord!

You've got to let go of all of the damn doubts and fears and gripes and grudges and murmurs and resentments and devilish burdens put there by the Enemy, and hang on to the Lord with all your might! Hitch your wagon to His star and there'll be no stopping you! But if you weigh down your wagon with all the rocks the Devil would like to pile on, "the weights and sins which do so easily beset you," you'll sink for sure! You've got to "lay aside every weight" and just forsake them and roll'm overboard and let'm fall behind as you go on with the Lord!

Of course, there's great power in united prayer together! So "call for the elders of the church," and have others pray with you and for you, joining together to "agree on Earth" to bind the Enemy and his evil roots of bitterness, and to "loose" and free you from its terrible negative effects! "One can chase a thousand, but two can put ten thousand to flight!"

Then once you've confessed your problem and had united prayer against it, resisting the Enemy and forsaking your sins, you've got to be prepared to keep fighting! Once a root of bitterness has been allowed to grow and spread for any length of time, it usually takes a while to completely break all the negative thought patterns and bad habits caused by it.--Even though the main "root" is gone.

You don't always get the victory over such problems handed to you on a silver platter. By faith you do get it, but you usually have to fight for it and do more than just claim it, you have to really practice it and appropriate it until the Enemy knows you're not going to give up.--Until he knows you're going to keep that victory and you really want it that much and you're not going to just throw it away.

C. "Forgive Us Our Sins as We Forgive Others"

It's been wisely said that, "Forgiveness is the key that unlocks the door of resentment and the handcuffs of hate. It is the power that breaks the chains of bitterness and the shackles of selfishness."

The Lord and His Love, mercy and forgiveness are the antidote for the deadly poison of bitterness! A little love can go such a long way, and no matter what problems a root of bitterness may stem from, love can still cover a multitude of sins on the part of whoever is to blame. Even if you don't understand exactly what the problem is between you and someone, the Lord understands!--And the answer is Love, whatever the problem!

"Love never fails" (), and past differences, hurts and grievances can all be healed through humility, love, and the oil of the Spirit. "Only by pride cometh contention" (), but love, humility and prayer solve all problems! It never fails!

1 Corinthians 13:8 KJV 1900

8 Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away.

Proverbs 13:10 KJV 1900

10 Only by pride cometh contention: But with the well advised is wisdom.

Love casts a veil over countless sins!--Love can cover all of the past sins and mistakes that you--or whoever you're having problems with--have made. The divine, supernatural, miraculous, infinite, marvellous Love of God is love enough to forgive! In fact, if you don't have love enough to forgive, you don't have love--because forgiveness is love! So if you can't forgive, you cannot possibly have real love or real humility!--And you haven't got mercy, because love is forgiveness and mercy!

As we've already pointed out, it's all too easy for us to go down the line and blame others for everything that's wrong with us and for all our problems. "Oh, they mistreated me and weren't fair to me!"--Or, "They didn't keep me in line and they didn't help me to do what is right, they let me do the wrong thing!" But when we forgive others, we no longer blame them.

Once bitterness has had the opportunity to grow in your heart, it's very easy to become very unloving and hard towards those you feel bitter against. Your spirit can then be very unforgiving, intolerant and impatient. Instead of making it easier for others, you even make it harder for them by your judging and critical spirit, hard heart and unforgiving attitude. If you've been this way, you'd better ask those toward whom you've been bitter to forgive you for your unloving critical spirit, and receive them with wide open arms, and ask them to forgive you for being so self-righteous, critical, hard of heart and unloving!

If you want to forsake and get rid of your bitterness, you have to forgive.--And if you truly forgive someone, that means you let go of whatever it is you're harbouring in your heart against them. You can't say you forgive, but can never forget. That means you're still holding it against them.

Those who say they will forgive but not forget are all too often simply burying the hatchet but leaving the handle out for future use. When you've had a problem with bitterness, you've got to be willing to absolutely release and forsake all of your past bitterness and grievances towards others. You've got to "forget those things which are behind, and reach forth unto those things which are before."--.

Philippians 3:13 KJV 1900

13 Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before,

Here's how one author accurately described bitterness and forgiveness: "Carrying a grudge is a loser's game. It is the ultimate frustration because it leaves you with more pain than you had in the first place. Recall the pain of being wronged, the hurt of being stung, cheated, demeaned. Doesn't the memory of it fuel the fire of fury again? Do you feel that hurt each time your memory lights on the people who did you wrong? Your own memory becomes a videotape within your soul that plays unending reruns of your old rendezvous with pain. Is this fair to yourself--this wretched justice of not forgiving?

"The only way to heal the pain that will not heal itself is to forgive the person who hurt you. Forgiving heals your memory as you change your memory's vision. When you release the wrong-doer from the wrong, you cut a malignant tumour out of your inner life. You set a prisoner free--yourself."--Lewis B. Smedes

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The Lord commands us to forgive those who have trespassed against us, and that means we can no longer blame them. Even if they were initially responsible for troubling us or causing us to have problems, we cannot continue to blame them for our problems if we truly forgive them. If we have problems that resulted from others mistreating us, and those problems continue, it's our fault, because the Lord has given us the power to overcome these things.

The Lord wants us to forgive those people and ask Him for His deliverance from those problems, so we can overcome them and be free from their hindrance. The Lord wants us to take the responsibility on ourselves, because He wants to show His power and His deliverance, that no matter what has happened to us in the past, it doesn't have to affect our whole lives! We don't have to carry that load with us for the rest of our lives.

The Word says that "Every man shall give an account of himself unto God!"--. But if you don't accept the responsibility for your present problems and quit blaming them on others, you're going to wind up going through your entire life never getting the victory or making any progress spiritually. How can you possibly grow and learn any lessons if you self-righteously blame other people for everything bad that's ever happened to you?

Romans 14:12 KJV 1900

12 So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God.

If you hang onto your bitterness and refuse to forgive others, then the Lord cannot forgive you or help you very much! Jesus said, "If ye forgive men their trespasses, your Heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Heavenly Father forgive your trespasses!"--,. The Lord is able and willing to help you to truly forgive others, and He will help you get rid of that bitterness if you sincerely ask Him and are willing to genuinely let go of every grudge, ought or resentment you may be clinging to.

Matthew 6:14 KJV 1900

14 For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you:

Matthew 6:15 KJV 1900

15 But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

If you've had a part in any past wrongdoings you may have suffered, you've got to be honest and confess that so that the Lord can heal you and deliver you and forgive you. His Word says, "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins."--. But if we don't even confess our sins, if we don't even think something's our fault, then how can the Lord forgive us?

1 John 1:9 KJV 1900

9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Even if we were entirely guiltless in the wrongs done to us in the past, we are guilty in that we got bitter about it. And if we blame someone else for our present problems because of some wrong they did to us in the past, we are wrong. Our present problems are our fault.

If your desire is to truly love and serve and worship the Lord "in spirit and in truth" (), then you've got to get rid of that heavy burden of bitterness and blame that you are carrying around and putting on other people for your problems; otherwise, you'll never be able to accomplish much for the Lord. Blaming others for your present problems is just murmuring and complaining! You are responsible for what you do from now on!

John 4:24 KJV 1900

24 God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.

Are you blaming your problems on others? Have you forgiven from your heart those who have hurt you in the past? Or are you using that as an excuse for your present problems? Remember, "Every one of us shall give an account of himself to God!"--. You are responsible for your own actions! So for God's sake, forgive those who have trespassed against you so the Lord can forgive you for your trespasses! "Forget those things which are behind and reach forth unto the things which are before, and press towards the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus!"--,.

Romans 14:12 KJV 1900

12 So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God.

Philippians 3:13 KJV 1900

13 Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before,

Philippians 3:14 KJV 1900

14 I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.

D. Spiritual Renewal!

When you're determined to utterly forsake a spiritual problem like bitterness and you call out to the Lord with a whole heart, asking Him to deliver you, it only takes one blast of the mighty searing power of the Holy Ghost to burn out all the Devil's old circuits in a mighty infilling of God's Spirit.--God's great electrical power!

When you sincerely call out to the Lord to deliver you, He does His part, and will fulfil His promise: "A new heart will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you."--. But even though you are a new creature, that old self will still try to pop up again! You have to fight the Devil and your old self and your old bad habits every day! So be prepared for a battle every day--especially with your besetting sins--"the weights and sins that do so easily beset you."--.

Ezekiel 36:26 KJV 1900

26 A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh.

Hebrews 12:1 KJV 1900

The Lord will be faithful to answer prayer and do His part. But then you've got to do your part by exerting the effort to forsake and "put off" all of the old negative thought patterns and bad habits. His Word says: "That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness."--.

Ephesians 4:22–24 KJV 1900

22 That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; 23 And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; 24 And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.

You need to really give the Lord a lot of cooperation in working on breaking any bad habits of bitterness you've formed, and ask Him to change your entire outlook and attitude towards those whom you've been bitter against.

You don't always necessarily get over this sort of thing in a day, it may sometimes take a little while. The Enemy doesn't easily yield territory that he's controlled. When people have had weaknesses and channels open to the Enemy before, he'll try to get that ground back if he can. So you've got to keep praying that the Lord will deliver you and give you the complete victory, rewire you completely!

You have to be absolutely rewired and have your mind transformed by the Spirit of God, and it usually takes time to rewire or reprogram a computer! Any psychologist will tell you that a new thought pattern cannot be established until the old one has had time to be completely erased.--In your case, only by a miracle of God!

Ask Him to put a new mind in you, "That mind which is in Christ Jesus!"--. That takes a genuine spiritual renewal, a real rewiring of all the nerves and nerve centres and whatnot, to make sure the Lord has complete control and the Devil's previous channels are broken completely!

Philippians 2:5 KJV 1900

5 Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:

And if you have to fight a real big battle to get the victory, the Lord will give you a lot more credit, a lot more reward. If you have a real tough battle and struggle to get the victory, it's probably because the Lord's testing you to find out how much you want it, and how much you're willing to fight for it before He's going to reward you with it. But if you do your part, the Lord will certainly do His, and you will win!--So don't give up! Praise the Lord!

BITTERNESS! - The Deadly Root that Devours and Destroys!

Compiled from the teachings of David Brandt Berg and his wife, Maria. Compiled by Apollos 📷

V. A Prayer For Deliverance Against Bitterness!

Lord Jesus, Your Word says that when we look unto You, we are lightened: And our faces are not ashamed.--And that when this poor man cries out to You, that You will hear me and save me and deliver me out of all my troubles! (,)

Psalm 34:5 KJV 1900

5 They looked unto him, and were lightened: And their faces were not ashamed.

Psalm 34:6 KJV 1900

6 This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him, And saved him out of all his troubles.

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So Lord, I call on You now with a whole heart, and I ask You to hear and answer and deliver me, in Jesus' name! I realise that these roots of bitterness are like a deadly infection, Lord, so I ask You right now to uproot and take them all away! Lord, please rid me of any doubts or fears or resentments or hurts about the past, or even about things that are happening right now, and give me faith to just let it all go into Your care.--To cast all my cares upon You because You care for me! ()

1 Peter 5:7 KJV 1900

7 Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.

If I still hang on to any such roots, even little roots, Lord, in the back of my heart, I know the Devil will play on them and aggravate them. So I rebuke the Enemy in this bitterness and this lack of trusting You, and I rebuke any unyieldedness to You, Lord! Help me, Jesus, just to be a yielded vessel and not try to be the clay saying to the Potter, "Why hast Thou made me thus?" or "Why have You done this to me and treated me this way and allowed this thing to happen that I resent!"--Or "Why are You doing these things to me right now?" Please help me to just be yielded, a yielded broken vessel, Lord, one that's willing to do anything for You!

Forgive me for all my sins, Lord, and help me not to criticise You and the way You're running my life. Help me not to ever think that I'm in any way more righteous than You, that I would do things better than You could have done. Please forgive me, Lord, for all my murmuring and doubting! It's such a terrible sin, Lord because my bitterness is really against You! Please help me to stop it!

Murmuring is really complaining that You're doing things wrong, which means I think I could do them better, that I'm more righteous than You are, which is self-righteousness, Lord, a terrible sin. Forgive me and help me to trust You more. You know best about all these things, and You're going to have Your way and it's all going to work out for the best in the long run for me, because I love You, in Jesus' name.

So forgive me, Lord, for all my murmurings and complainings and gripings and growlings and groanings and bellyaching and criticisms! Help me to learn to be truly thankful, and to "in everything give thanks" (), to praise You in all things, Lord, and be thankful for what I've got, because things could certainly be a whole lot worse!

1 Thessalonians 5:18 KJV 1900

18 In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.

I praise You, Lord, for the life You've given me!--For Your Love and a place in Your Family! Forgive me for when I've murmured and complained and grouched and growled and grumbled about this or that little thing when I thought I should have been treated better or deserved more. Forgive me, Lord! Help me to be more thankful and to praise You for all Your goodness and mercy instead of murmuring and complaining and growling and grumbling and griping about the little tests and trials that You've allowed to come my way.

Help me, Lord, to always praise You!--Even when the Devil comes along with his growlings and gripings, help me to confront him with praise, to shout and sing praises to You, Lord, and thanksgiving for all Your goodness and mercy and Love and provision and protection and all this wonderful life that You've given me to live for You and for others.--The best and greatest life in the World and with the greatest dividends in Heaven, in Jesus' name! TYL! Praise the Lord!

Thank You for this beautiful life, this wonderful World and this wonderful Work, Lord! Thank You Jesus for it all! Help me never to complain or murmur or gripe or bellyache or go around poisoning other people with my complaints and murmurs! You really are sick of that kind of thing and that kind of people, Lord, and I know from Your Word that You just will not put up with them! You slaughtered millions of people out in the desert who did it and You only let their children inherit the Kingdom!

So please strengthen me, Lord, with Your Word and the Sword of Your Spirit that I may be able to truly resist and fight the Enemy! Help me, Lord, to be properly armed against all the fiery darts of the Evil One and his doubts and criticisms and lies and murmurs and resentments and "poor-me's" and all the demonic fiery darts of the Devil!

And help me, Lord, not to fight nor resist whatever it is that You want to use to break me and humble me and draw and keep me close to You. I know, Lord, that You know what's best for me, even if it doesn't always seem best for me, Lord! You just want to see if I'm willing to trust You and believe You and believe that "All things truly do work together for good to them that love Thee"!--.

Romans 8:28 KJV 1900

28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.

I know that things will be a lot easier if I just accept what You've done in my life in the past and what You're trying to do in my life right now. I know it'll be easier, Lord, if I accept the breakings and the chastisements and the lessons and all of these things, if I don't fight against them, if I just yield. Jesus, help me not to give the Devil an inch, not to allow even one tiny root or offshoot of bitterness to remain in my heart!

I know that I cannot expect Your blessing and protection when I run away from You, out of Your Will, even spiritually in thought. So keep me close to You with pure and positive thoughts of You and Your Word, in Jesus' name!

Help me, Lord, to watch my thoughts and watch my words and to fill my heart and mind with You and Your Word so that I'll be well-protected and fortified and surrounded by Your Angels of protection and Your Guardian Angels, Lord, that care for Your children all the time.

And Lord, please renew me with Your wonderful Spirit of Love! Please fill me with Your Holy Spirit, Lord, that I may have a heart full of Your Love. Your Word says, "Above all things have fervent love one toward another."--. Please help me not to condemn or judge others in pride or self-righteousness.

1 Peter 4:8 KJV 1900

8 And above all things have fervent charity among yourselves: for charity shall cover the multitude of sins.

Please give me more of Your Love, Your patience, Your humility, which is synonymous with love--littleness in my own eyes. Give me sweetness and love for others. Help me to mete unto other men's bosoms as I want You to mete unto me. Help me to truly forgive other men's sins as You have forgiven me, to have mercy upon others as You have had mercy upon me.

Guard me from the Devil who goeth about as a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour. I know he is the one who stands day and night accusing Your Saints and trying to divide, trying to subvert, propagandising and lying and causing doubts and fears and casting fiery darts of hate and resentment.

Help me to be more like You, Lord Jesus!--And help me not to be like the Enemy--the Accuser of the Saints, the harsh, the cruel, the devourer! Help me to be forgiving and patient, and to have mercy as I want mercy, and to treat others in their errors as I want You to treat me in mine!

Help me to truly forgive all those against whom I have felt offended or resentful or bitter. I sincerely pray that now, Lord, regarding all of those who may have offended me or failed me or made mistakes, who somehow affected or hurt or upset me. Please help me to forgive. I ask You to please forgive me. "Forgive me my sins as I forgive those who have sinned against me."--.

Luke 11:4 KJV 1900

4 And forgive us our sins; for we also forgive every one that is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil.

Lord, help me to be more simple and childlike in these things! Your Word says, "In understanding be ye men, but in malice be ye children."--. So even if I'm offended sometimes, help me to let it go and forget it right away. Help me not to hold things against people, to not stay offended! Help me to cut these sensitive thoughts off before they have a chance to become any kind of bitterness. Help me to truly forgive and forget and love. Help me to keep my life as simple as I can, Lord, to live simply and try not to be complicated, trying to keep track of how I've been offended and by whom, etc.

1 Corinthians 14:20 KJV 1900

20 Brethren, be not children in understanding: howbeit in malice be ye children, but in understanding be men.

Help me now, Lord, and deliver and uproot any and all evil seeds or roots of bitterness, envy or hate!--That I might be delivered and freed and be all the freer to go ahead with even greater conviction to get the job done that You have called me to do!--Help me to "lay aside every weight and the sin which doth so easily beset me," that I may truly run Your race, for Your glory, in Jesus' name!

I know, Lord, that this is not just something that I do once and for all, but I have to constantly be forsaking all these temptations and negative thoughts in my heart, all the time forsaking the old ways and laying aside these weights and hindrances. Lord, every day I've got to forsake the Devil's voice and temptations which try to call me back and suck me back into the old ways and the old habits and bondages, so help me to do that, and keep fighting! Thank You, Lord, for delivering me!--In Jesus' name, amen.

"Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and He will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon."--.

Isaiah 55:7 KJV 1900

7 Let the wicked forsake his way, And the unrighteous man his thoughts: And let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him; And to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.

"For it is better to hearken unto the voice of thy Lord than to dwell in the fields of bitterness! It is better to follow thy God than to follow the words of Man."

Bitterness

Definition: Holding on to or showing feelings of intense [strong] animosity [hatred, anger], resentment or vindictiveness [wanting to get back at someone]. -- Other words that describe bitterness are: merciless, unforgiving, holding a grudge. Bitterness is also described as feelings resulting from something that is difficult to accept.

1. God's Word warns us against the dangers of bitterness.

[When we allow ourselves to become bitter against others, we create walls difficult to overcome, which isolates us from others.] A brother offended is harder to be won than a strong city: and their contentions are like the bars of a castle., [Bitterness is a sin to be repented of.] Repent therefore of this thy wickedness, and pray God if perhaps the thought of thine heart may be forgiven thee. 23 For I perceive that thou art in the gall [poison] of bitterness, and in the bond of iniquity. Husbands, love your wives, and be not bitter against them. [Be on guard against it, because even a little root of bitterness can do much harm to you and others.] Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled [contaminated]. [See also .] If ye have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, glory not [don't brag about it.], and lie not against the truth.

2. Do not carry or keep bitterness, but replace it with love, kindness and forgiveness.

Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear [carry or keep] any grudge [bitterness] against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I am the Lord. [Love can overcome bitterness, but watch out about opening up old hurts felt from others. Better to forgive and forget.] He that covereth a transgression seeketh love; but he that repeateth [harps about] a matter separateth very [true] friends. [See also 10:12.], For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your Heavenly Father will also forgive you: 15 But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. [In His parable of the unmerciful servant, Jesus made it clear that we will suffer if we refuse to sincerely forgive our brethren, when we know Jesus has had mercy on our sins.] 35 So likewise shall My Heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses. [Hypocritical, judgmental self-righteousness can cause us to harbor bitterness, while feeling justified for doing so, yet it ends up bringing God's punishments upon ourselves.] Therefore thou art inexcusable, O man, whosoever thou art that judgest: for wherein thou judgest another, thou condemnest thyself; for thou that judgest doest the same things. 2 But we are sure that the judgment of God is according to truth against them which commit such things. 3 And thinkest thou this, O man, that judgest them which do such things, and doest the same, that thou shalt escape the judgment of God? 4 Or despisest thou the riches of His goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance? 5 But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath [you are saving up terrible punishment for yourselves] against the Day of Wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God; 6 Who will render to every man according to his deeds., Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour [shouting or crying], and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice [desire to do harm]: 32 And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you. [Even if someone has mistreated or wronged you, God's love is love enough to forgive.] And above all things have fervent love among yourselves: for love shall cover the multitude of sins.

3. If you allow bitterness a place in your heart, it will eventually come out of your mouth in murmuring and complaining.

, [Job complains to his friends:] Oh that my grief were throughly weighed, and my calamity laid in the balances together! 3 For now it would be heavier than the sand of the sea: therefore my words are swallowed up [have been rash]. [See also 7:11.] [Job also said:] My soul is weary of my life; I will leave my complaint upon myself; I will speak in the bitterness of my soul. [See also 16:6-16.] [Job's self-righteousness caused him to become bitter against God, thinking he knew better.] Then Job answered and said, 2 Even to day is my complaint bitter: my stroke is heavier than my groaning. 3 Oh that I knew where I might find Him! That I might come even to His seat! 4 I would order my cause before Him, and fill my mouth with arguments. Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh. [See also 15:11,18,19.] Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness.

4. The Lord, in His love, can deliver you from the sin of bitterness. Here are some examples of three who overcame it, and one who didn't:

[If anyone had cause to be bitter, it was Joseph. His brothers had despised him; they brutally sold him into slavery and lied to their father that he had been killed by a wild animal; he spent time in prison on false charges of rape; was left there for two years longer because Pharaoh's forgetful chief butler forgot his promise to help get Joseph out of jail. In spite of all this, here's how Joseph reconciled with his brothers:] And Joseph said unto his brethren, I am Joseph; doth my father yet live? And his brethren could not answer him; for they were troubled at his presence. 4 And Joseph said unto his brethren, Come near to me, I pray you. And they came near. And he said, I am Joseph your brother, whom ye sold into Egypt. 5 Now therefore be not grieved, nor angry with yourselves, that ye sold me hither: for God did send me before you to preserve life. 6 For these two years hath the famine been in the land: and yet there are five years, in the which there shall neither be earing nor harvest. 7 And God sent me before you to preserve you a posterity in the earth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance. 8 So now it was not you that sent me hither, but God: and He hath made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house, and a ruler throughout all the land of Egypt. ... 10 And thou shalt dwell in the land of Goshen, and thou shalt be near unto me, thou, and thy children, and thy children's children, and thy flocks, and thy herds, and all that thou hast: 11 And there will I nourish thee; for yet there are five years of famine; lest thou, and thy household, and all that thou hast, come to poverty. ... 15 Moreover he kissed all his brethren, and wept upon them: and after that his brethren talked with him. [Hannah, mother of Samuel, was sorely provoked every year by Peninnah, the second wife of her husband, Elkanah. Peninnah had children and purposely tried to make Hannah feel badly because she had no children. After years of Peninnah doing this, Hannah, having become bitter, not eating well and feeling that she somehow was not blessed of the Lord, took her bitterness to the Lord in desperate prayer, openly confessing her grief, both to the Lord, and to Eli, the priest, and finally a great victory was one, first by faith, followed by the Lord's blessings.] 10 And she was in bitterness of soul, and prayed unto the Lord, and wept sore. ... [Eli, when he saw Hannah sobbing, mistakenly though she'd been drinking and was drunk:] 15 I am a woman of a sorrowful spirit: I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but have poured out my soul before the Lord. ... [She explained her prayer that God give her a son.] 17 Then Eli answered and said, Go in peace: and the God of Israel grant thee thy petition that thou hast asked of Him. 18 And she said, Let thine handmaid find grace in thy sight. So the woman went her way, and did eat, and her countenance was no more sad. [By faith Hannah had given her bitterness to the Lord, and because of it, was able to return to her family, having been freed from sadness and was even able to eat normally. Later the blessings came: the Lord not only blessed her with Samuel, her first born who she gave to the Lord, but also with three other sons and two daughters!] [King Hezekiah grew bitter during a nearly fatal illness. During his worst days, he felt the Lord was cutting him off. Yet his desperate prayer and tears brought eventual healing and victory.] I said in the cutting off of my days, I shall go to the gates of the grave: I am deprived of the residue of my years. 11 I said, I shall not see the Lord, even the Lord, in the land of the living: I shall behold man no more with the inhabitants of the world. 12 Mine age is departed, and is removed from me as a shepherd's tent: I have cut off like a weaver my life: He will cut me off with pining sickness: from day even to night wilt Thou make an end of me. 13 I reckoned till morning, that, as a lion, so will He break all my bones: from day even to night wilt thou make an end of me. 14 Like a crane or a swallow, so did I chatter: I did mourn as a dove: mine eyes fail with looking upward: O Lord, I am oppressed; undertake for me. 15 What shall I say? He hath both spoken unto me, and Himself hath done it: I shall go softly all my years in the bitterness of my soul. 16 O Lord, by these things men live, and in all these things is the life of my spirit: [then Hezekiah begins to speak faith:] so wilt Thou recover me, and make me to live. 17 Behold, for peace I had great bitterness: but Thou hast in love to my soul delivered it from the pit of corruption: for Thou hast cast all my sins behind Thy back. [Absalom, son of King David, bitterly hated his half-brother, Amnon, for having raped Tamar, Absalom's full sister. This unbridled bitterness grew for two years until Absalom had Amnon killed.] And Absalom spake unto his brother Amnon neither good nor bad: for Absalom hated Amnon, because he had forced his sister Tamar. ... 28 Now Absalom had commanded his servants, saying, Mark ye now when Amnon's heart is merry with wine, and when I say unto you, Smite Amnon; then kill him, fear not: have not I commanded you? Be courageous, and be valiant. 29 And the servants of Absalom did unto Amnon as Absalom had commanded. Then all the king's sons arose, and every man gat him up upon his mule, and fled.

5. Bitterness stems from feelings of anger and an unforgiving attitude towards others. Here are some more solutions from the Word on how to avoid it.

[If we are truly hungry to learn from the Lord, even bitter experiences are looked upon as "blessings in disguise."] The full soul loatheth an honeycomb; but to the hungry soul every bitter thing is sweet., Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought [grievance] against thee; 24 Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift. And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any: that your Father also which is in Heaven may forgive you your trespasses. [Bitterness is also described as the feelings resulting from something that is difficult to accept; so it's important to always remember that the Lord has a good purpose in everything that He allows to happen to us.] We know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose. [God's Word often speaks of "renewing our minds," which implies letting go of the old; particularly any past grievances and bitternesses.] And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. [See also .], [Going to bed in anger is an avenue for the Devil to work.] Let not the sun go down upon your wrath; 27 Neither give place to the Devil. [Bitterness is also caused by holding on to bad or angry feelings about someone or something that happened, but the Lord tells us to forget the things that are past.] Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before. Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye.

The Fruit of The Root of Bitterness

I preached this message Sunday June 13, 2010 here at FIBC.

I take my subject from which speaks about the “Root of bitterness.” These are tough times and sometimes in tough times, even Christians do not respond correctly to the things that happen to us. There is a progression that ultimately leads to a root of bitterness…and it is almost always in this order: HURT must be dealt with Scripturally or it will become ANGER. Anger must be dealt with Scripturally or it will become BITTERNESS. Hurt that is resolved in response to the truth of God’s Word will never become anger. Failure to resolve hurt by God’s grace will result in anger. When anger is not resolved, the next step is bitterness.

In almost 30 years of pastoring, I have seen the pattern and progression more times than I can count. A broken husband or wife will pour out the tears of brokenness and we will pray, share Scriptures, and encourage faith in God to work it out or bring them through. Many times we watch helplessly as they progress through each stage until it is virtually hopeless. The word “bitterness” is referring to “poison.” It poisons the spirit of the bitter one. Read and notice v.31 In , Simon the sorcerer was “in the gall of bitterness, and in the bond of iniquity.” “Gall”= bile=poison.

This is of utmost importance to understand: Many times the fruit of the root of bitterness is inadvertently directed toward God, blaming God and even taking it out on Him by forsaking Church, the Bible, Prayer, fellowship and service. I cannot tell you the times bitter persons have told me how they got out of Church and away for the Lord all the while justifying their actions not realizing they took it out on the Lord.

Now here are a few of the fruits of the root of bitterness:

Defilement. Our hearts and lives are contaminated before God. We become unclean before God. Sin abides in our hearts. describes the same truth concerning the tongue which “defileth the whole body.”Division is a fruit of the root of bitterness. It divides the bitter person from fellowship with God, family, friends and drives away the ones who love us the most. Cain in is a good example. Surely he and his family missed the closeness of each other’s company all because he became bitter.Deadness to the Holy Spirit and the things of God is a fruit of the root of bitterness. Bitterness controls and consumes the heart and keeps the bitter one from sensing the sweet presences of God. Shows that these things including bitterness “grieve the Holy Spirit.”Deception is a fruit of the root of bitterness. I have been amazed at the deception bitter people live with. Many times, they cannot see where they are wrong and they feel justified to be bitter. We never try to win over something we will not admit is true. I have had people say very bitterly, “I AM NOT BITTER!”Depression is a fruit of the root of bitterness. Bitter people have poison in their heart and the first victim of bitterness is the bitter person. They live in mental anguish and are consumed with the object of their bitterness. Not all depression comes from bitterness but all bitterness has a measure of depression.Delirium (madness) is a fruit of the root of bitterness. A bitter person carries a certain amount of anger into the bitter stage. That is why mentions all the other kindred attitudes: bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, evil speaking and malice.Damage is a fruit of the root of bitterness. The longer a person stays bitter, the more damage is done in every personal relationship including fellowship with the Lord. The longer they suffer from bitterness, the more suffering they spread with their bitterness. It affects whole families, whole Churches, friends and chips away at the foundation of their faith.Distraction is a fruit of the root of bitterness. Cannot fellowship with the Lord without thinking about the source of the bitterness. Cannot pray without thinking about the source of the bitterness. Cannot listen quietly and contently to the Word of God without thinking of the source of bitterness. Cannot live a successful Christian life with the fruit of the Holy Spirit described in -23Finally and sometimes fatally, sometimes bitterness determines destiny, and instead of being broken and Born Again, the bitter one is bound in the chains of sin and sorrow. And even more sadly, many times the bitterness spreads to others and the bitterness of one keeps the other from coming to Christ. Let me explain. When a father or mother allows bitterness to take them out of Church, they take their children with them and away from the environment best suited to reach their hearts. ()

Bitterness will control, confuse, callous, condemn, and create a critical, casual, carnal and caustic Christian.

If you are bitter you will not get better until you deal with the bitterness. As long as Satan can entice you to feel justified, he can keep you locked in the prison with the poison of bitterness. How do you deal with bitterness?

Bitterness

- Hebrew 12:14-15

(Used by permission: Pastor Roger Baker, Calvary Baptist Church, King, NC , Oct 3, 2002 - Some minor changes made)

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Introduction: In his book. Lee: The Last Years, Charles Flood reports that after the Civil War, Robert E. Lee visited a Kentucky lady who took him to the remains of a grand old tree in front of her house. There she bitterly cried that its limbs and trunk had been destroyed by Federal artillery fire. She looked to Lee for a word condemning the North or at least sympathizing with her loss. After a brief silence, Lee said, "Cut it down, my dear Madam, and forget it." It is better to forgive the injustices of the past than to allow them to remain, let bitterness take root and poison the rest of our life.

One of the great problems in the life of a Christian and in our churches is something that is hard to admit, though easy to recognize.

It is one of the most destructive and dangerous of all human emotions and if not dealt with, will spiritually destroy the person who has it.

* It can rob you of your peace and joy. * It is an open door for Satan to control you life. * It can lead to the lost of good friends. * It can hurt or destroy you relationship with your family, your wife and can even lead to the breakup of your home. * It make peace and harmony impossible. * There can be no true biblical love where it exists. * It destroys any true relationship with the Lord and will keep you from growing in the Lord. * It will defeat you and ruin your life and the lives of those around you.

What is it? It is the sin of bitterness.

Definition: "adjective" 1 having a sharp, pungent taste or smell; not sweet. 2 causing pain or unhappiness. 3 feeling anger, hurt, and resentment. 4 (of a conflict) harsh and acrimonious - which means having ill feelings. 5 (of wind or weather) intensely cold.

It is the feeling of hurt, resentment, anger, and even hate that can build up in our hearts when we have been hurt by another person or by an experience in life. It can be directed towards other people and even towards God.

The Book of Hebrews was written last in the first century. Jerusalem had been destroyed, Jewish believers had been greatly persecuted. They had been harassed-mistreated. Because they believed in Christ their family and friends had turned against them.

There was a real danger that they would turn bitter, return to Judaism and give up on the Lord. They were prime candidates for bitterness.

Often in our lives people hurt us, take advantage of us, betray us, take credit for what we have done. Often people belittle us and elevate themselves and treat us badly....often with there being no fault of our own. We did nothing to desire it and sometimes should have been praised or recognized for what we did, but were robbed of our reward.

I. The Root of Bitterness - Its Cause.

How does bitterness take root in your heart. Before there is a root there is a seed. The seed is planted and the plant begins to grow.

"Root" = It exists beneath the surface, invisible to the eye, but very real. The seed is planted when someone does you wrong, or you perceive that you were wronged. It could begin when you were disappointed or hurt. Sometimes the person who hurts us does it unintentionally being insensitive to what the did or said. Other times. . .it is deliberate. In either case the seed sprouts unseen by others and it takes root.

Problem: Don't deal with it properly - instead of returning love for hurt...we disregard the Grace of God which is God's unmerited favor. God forgives the sinner who does not deserve to be forgiven. Bitterness begins when instead of forgiving, we become resentful and bitterness grows towards them. We think the person should know what the did and should correct their behavior, but they go on as if nothing has happened. But God's word teach us that forgiveness is not based on merit, but on grace....because we choose to forgive and not hold resentment.

In the model prayer Jesus in said we ask for forgiveness as we are forgiving others, "And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors." The word debt means what is owed to us or in this verse someone who has offended or sinned against us.

Jesus in shows us the seriousness of the matter: "For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses."

In Jesus gave us the standard saying that we were to forgive seventy times seventy the person who hurts us. A BITTER PERSON IS USUALLY ONE WHO HAVE BEEN HURT.

Usually there are three ways we are hurt.

1. By what is DONE to us. 2. By what is SAID about us. 3. By what is TAKEN from us.

Bitterness in a believer's live represents a spiritual failure. The Christian is to live by God's principles and one vital principle that is demonstrated in God's grace is that we are to forgive those that trespass against us.

It is impossible for us to go through life without being hurt by someone. There will be times when we are wronged.

What is frustrating is that it we have a truly been hurt and most times the person who hurt us goes on as if it did not happen. Most times there is no apparent justice and the person who hurt us so deeply receives not punishment, does not apologize and suffers no ill consequences for their act.

- A neglected or abused child. I correspondence recently with a young mother who was bitter about her father who had abused her as a child. She was now married with children, but she was very bitter. Her father was a pastor of a church! He mother stood by her father, as did the church members. He privately told her she had no right to destroy his "ministry." She was the victim and yet she was treated as if she had done wrong. She was fighting bitterness.

- A Christian man, was fired because he was honest and refused to do unethical things in business. The company continued to prosper...he lost his job.

- A faithful hard working employee is passed over for a position and it was given to someone else who did not deserve it.

- One's spouse was unfaithful and walked out on their spouse. A faithful spouse who loved their companion was betrayed.

- A person's close friend talked about them to others and betrayed them.

- A pastor is mistreated by the congregation that he faithfully and sacrificially served.

- Bothers and sisters become bitter when daddy or mammas's things are divided after their deaths. One daughter for years takes care of an ailing mother at great expense of money and time. The will is read and she gets no more than the others....with no recognition for us service and love to her mother.

- One child is praised in the family and another's achievements are ignored or made little of.

- A tragedy happens in life....child is killed, mamed, wife or husbad dies leaving the spouse alone and in debt.

All these things and many many more can cause bitterness to take root in a person's heart.

II. The Fruit of Bitterness - It Results.

A. What is the result of bitterness?

1. Bitterness causes the person who holds it harm. It will rob you of your peace of mind, of joy in your life or satisfaction. Most of all it will deeply hurt your pride. 2. Saturate your mind. The root of bitterness can take hold our your mind. You find yourself thinking about the person who harmed your all the time. You cannot get over it or get it out of your mind.

In S.I. McMillen, MD book "None of these Diseases" he said: "The moment I start hating a person I become that person's slave. I can't enjoy life...he controls my thoughts...I can't escape his/her grasp on my mind. He or she may be many miles away, always in my mind."

ILLUS: The story is told of a very bitter woman who was bitten by a rabid raccoon. Test are run and the doctor tells her she has rabies. She then got out a notebook and began to write down names. The doctor asked if she was making a will. She replied, NO! I am making a list of all the people I am going to bite!

2. Bitterness will sadden your spirit. Bitterness is a depressant. There are no happy bitter people. It will make you critical, pessimistic, and negative. It will blow out the candle of joy in your heart. It will rob you of any getting any enjoyment out of life. ILLUS: It is like the character in the "Little Abner" cartoons who went around everywhere with a dark cloud over his head.

You get the "Woe is me syndrome and everything you will be seen through the colored lens of bitterness.

3. It can sicken your body. God did not create our bodies to nurse bitter feelings towards others. It has been said that "Not every sick person is bitter, but every bitter person will eventually get sick."

4. It causes stress and we all know that what the doctors tell us about stress it true. It will ruin our health and can kill us. Yet, is a sickness that can be 100% prevented and completely cured.

5. Bitterness will defile others around you if not overcome.

- It will ruin your children if you are bitter against another Christian, your church, preacher, and yes....even God. - It will seriously effect your relationship with others and your ability to show love to your husband, children, family and friends. Marriages have been destroyed by bitterness, often when it is even directed towards others. You hurt the people you love the most and who count on you. - It will rob you of your testimony. says, "Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God: and every one that loveth him that begat loveth him also that is begotten of him. By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments." - It will rob you of your service and reward for the Lord. Often bitterness grows and a person become so dishearten that they give up on the Lord. There is no satisfaction in serving the Lord. You see, bitterness effects our relationship with the Lord and God cannot bless us in this sinful state. - It will rob you of the blessings of the Lord. God cannot bless a person who is not living filled and guided by the Holy Spirit. In Paul exhorted us to:

* be at peace with all men. * not render evil for evil. * support the weak and be patient towards all men. * pray without ceasing * in everything give thanks * quench not the Spirit. * abstain from all appearance of evil.

B. You see....bitterness is sin. Sin breaks our fellowship with God and we then do not have His blessing or guidance.

Often people because of pressure will keep on doing their job. They will keep coming to church. Outwardly the will make a semblance at serving the Lord, but their heart is not in it. There service is not done in faith trusting the Lord, but done resentfully.

Bitterness is a personal sin and God clearly tells us that the wages of sin is death..... Sin is always destructive and this sin is one of the very worse.

III. Overcoming Bitterness - How?

A. Like any sin, we must first admit it.

1. says, If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us."

Yet there is a particular problem admitting bitterness. It is so very hard to admit. Why?

"Because it was not you, but the other person who did the wrong, who hurt you, who said what the did, who abused your, who belittled you, who robbed you of your recognition."

We feel that we are justified in feeling the way we do because we were the person who was wronged. What makes it worse....the person who hurt us often goes on about life with no apparent ill effect. They got away with hurting us and feel no remorse and make no apology.

2. You must confess your bitterness as sin.

"Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers. And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption. Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: 32 And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you."

says, "But if ye have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, glory not, and lie not against the truth."

3. You must forgive the person who has wronged you. .

Husband, wife, church, pastor, church member, family member or friend, parent....no matter what the did to you or how grievously they harmed you.

Our natural nature...the old carnal nature says this person has hurt me so bad I can never forgive them. Maybe the continue to hurt you and seem to take pleasure it it. You see we feel justified in our resentment towards them.

Yet, as a believer we have been shown the love and forgiveness of Christ. He died for us when we were in rebellion against Him. Yes, we were guilty, but He loved us and showed that love by paying our sin debt...that we owed. We who have been shown such as wonderful love....can we do less.

B. And let us further admit that even after God saved us we continue at times to sin....don't we? Is not being bitter a sin....and all sin is against God isn't it. He deeply hurt Him when we deny Him our love and obedience. It hurts Him to see us giving into sin and destroying ourselves. It also makes little of His sacrifice for us doesn't it?

You know the sin of bitterness you harbor....it helped drive the nails into his hands and feet. It helped shove Him down on that old rugged cross, it helped beat Him until His body and face were amass of sores and torn flesh. WE HAD A REAL PART IN HIS SUFFERING AND DEATH .....DO WE DESERVE TO BE FORGIVEN? Truly we do not, yet He forgave us when we believed.

Can't you, for the love of Christ...forgive someone who hurt you? Can't you for the love of Christ....give the matter over to the Lord? Even someone who continues to hurt or offend you and who is not deserving of forgiveness...?

ILLUS: Bitterness is bondage and what a joy to be set free from it. Years ago, Carolyn and I sacrificed our all for a church. We loved them and we cared for them and their relationship with the Lord. We gave them many years of our lives....we gave up family. We were not able to attend our son's wedding, or the birth of our grandson's. We have missed most of their lives. Yet this church showed its appreciation by treating us so very bad. It almost killed me....yet I had to let it go, or it would have destroyed me. They to this day have never apologized or tried to set the thing right....but they are forgiven and I hold no grudge against them. My prayer is that they will seek the Lord and get their hearts right with Him.

You must release them from the debt your feel they owe you.

Conclusion:

The invitation is simple: As Christ loved you....so love your neighbor, no matter what the sin against you....forgive them and put it aside. Turn the matter over to the Lord, ask Him to forgive you for your bitter feelings and then forgive that person.

Stronghold of Bitterness:

Soul: Our minds, wills, and emotions vs. spirit

, "For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart."

Ground: Jurisdictional area ("place" in our souls)

, "Neither give place to the devil."

Stronghold: Mind-set and conclusions contrary to Scripture.

, "(For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;"

Tormentors: Afflictions allowed by God to teach us mercy.

, "And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him."

Principality: A ruler of evil over a jurisdictional area.

, "For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places."

I. How Bitterness Effects Our Souls:

A. The Problem: Bitterness defiles our souls.

1. In our pursuit of "peace with all men . . ." and "holiness" we are to watch diligently that no one resists the grace of God.

2. If we do not, there can very easily spring up in us roots of bitterness.

3. By this means, "many be defiled’’ ( 15).

B. The Consequence: Bitterness decreases our souls.

1. If we pursue that which is evil, God may allow us to have the evil desires of our hearts, but send leanness into our souls. ().

2. Leanness decreases the capacity of our souls to respond to God and to follow His ways.

C. The Solution: Lost "ground" can be regained.

1. The promise of is especially significant: "He restoreth my soul.".

2. As the Lord is our shepherd, He leads us ". . . in the paths of righteousness" ...

3. And prepares ". . . a table before us in the presence of our enemies . . ." ,

II. What is the significance of lost "Ground".

A. The Definition: A jurisdictional area of our souls.

1. We are warned that bitterness will give "place to the devil" ().

2. The original word for "place" means an area of legal control.

3. In a kingdom the jurisdiction is determined by the ground under the authority of the king.

B. The Problem: "Surrendered aground" brings torment.

1. When the devil is given "ground" in our souls.

2. He has the legal right to build strong- holds on that "ground" and to use it as a "base of operation" to torment our souls in other areas.

C. The Solution: "Ground" is regained a step at a time.

1. Every time we allow the sun to go down upon our wrath, we give more "ground" to Satan. cf .

2. There may be many different individuals toward whom we are bitter.

3. In a warfare, "ground" that is surrendered to the enemy must be regained a foot at a time.

III. What About the Strongholds?

A. The definition: A false pattern of thinking.

1. God warns us not to be deceived by vain philosophies.

2. Those which are after "the world, and not after Christ" cf .

3. Believing these philosophies will allow Satan to "spoil" (plunder) our souls.

B. The Consequence: Decisions contrary to God’s will.

1. When Satan constructs a line of reason- ing in our minds which is contrary to Scripture, he then influences our wills to make wrong decisions.

2. Wrong decisions produce destructive emotions such as fear, anger, depression, and worry.

C. The Solution: Strongholds can be pulled down.

1. We have been given mighty weapons by God "to the pulling down of strongholds" cf

2. These weapons of truth are designed to cast down every false philosophy and every deceptive imagination and to bring every thought into line with the truth of Christ’s teaching.

D. Some examples of strongholds:

1. "My offender will never change."

a. Based on this false conclusion, Satan convinces husbands and wives to divorce each other, children to rebel against their parents, employees to quit their jobs, and factions to begin in churches.

b. Yet God states, "Behold, I am the Lord, the God of all flesh: is there any thing too hard for me? cf

c. God promises wives that they can win their unbelieving husbands by demonstrating a meek and quiet spirit and by learning how to show sincere honor to their husbands. cf

d. God urges husbands to love their wives and not to be bitter toward them.

e. When they love their wives with agape love, their wives will become treasured "help meets." cf & 33

2. "I must punish my offender."

a. God promises to punish our offender if he continues to reject the gracious appeals of those he offends.

b. It is not our place to bring retaliation but to allow the wrath of God to take its course.

c. ". . . Vengeance is mine, I will repay, saith the Lord" cf

d. When we take matters into our own hands in order to "get even" with our offenders, we miss out on the special blessing that God will give those who conquer by love, and we bring destruction to our own physical health, attitudes, and relationships.

IV. How God Uses Tormentors.

A. The Definition: Powers of evil that afflict our souls.

1. When the servant who had been for- given the huge debt refused to forgive one who owed him a little debt, he was rebuked by his lord and delivered over "to the tormentors" cf

2. The verb form of the word for "tormentors" in this passage means "to torture."

3. Its root word means "to cause pain and toil; to produce anguish and vexation of soul."

B. The Problem: God sends tormentors to bitter people.

1. In the parable of the unjust steward, the lord rebuked the servant who refused to forgive an offender:

2. Note:

"Then his lord, after that he had called him, said unto him, O thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all that debt, because thou desiredst me: Shouldest not thou also have had compassion on thy fellowservant, even as I had pity on thee? And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him."

3. A bitter person becomes a prisoner of his own making; he is angry, discour- aged, depressed, disillusioned, and unable to concentrate on his respons- ibilities or to enjoy the relationships which God designed for him to have.

C. The Solution: Understand the meaning of mercy.

1. In the parable of the unjust steward, the debtor did not plead for mercy; he simply asked for an extension of time.

2. "Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay thee all". v 26

3. The lord delivered him to the tormen- tors so he could come to the realization that he would never be able to pay back his debt.

4. If he would then plead for mercy, the lord would forgive him the entire debt.

5. Then having experienced mercy, he would be able to show mercy to his offenders.

V. How to Tear Down the Strongholds of Bitterness.

A. Preparation:

1. If we have given "ground" to Satan, we are under the influence of his principalities, powers of evil, and rulers of darkness.

2. The same book that warns us not to give "place to the devil"..

3. Also reminds us of who we are doing battle with.

4. ". . . We wrestle not against flesh and blood, hut against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places". cf

5. Scriptural steps by which we are able to conquer Satan and destroy his strong- holds are given in .

"And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death."

B. They Overcame Him By:

1. The blood of the Lamb.

a. Satan and all his hosts were present at the crucifixion of Christ.

b. At the time Jesus was nailed to the cross, He snatched the legal document that Satan held in his hand.

c. That document had given Satan authority over every person in the world.

d. Jesus nailed the document to the cross and blotted out the hand-writing on the document with His own blood.

e. Then He made an "open show" of Satan in the heavens.

This expression refers to the practice of triumphant generals from Rome parading their conquered enemies through the city streets, in order to demonstrate that these foes no longer had any authority or power over the people because they had been conquered and disarmed.

f. Based on what Christ did on the cross, the only authority that Satan has today over us is that which we give him through rejection of what Christ accomplished or disobedience to His Word.

g. These powerful truths are presented in the following passages:

, "And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses; Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross; And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it."

, "And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood,"

2. The word of their testimony.

a. We appropriate the powerful work of Christ by placing our faith in Him and repenting from the works of the flesh that have dominated our lives.

b. Our way of giving testimony to this truth is by confessing our sin of bitterness, by asking God to regain the ground we gave Satan, by tearing down strongholds of unscriptural ideas, and by showing mercy to those who offend us.

c. We forgive others because God for Christ’s sake has forgiven us.

VI. Steps of Action:

A. Confess bitterness as sin.

1. Many of us excuse bitterness.

2. We continually rehearse the damage done to us by our offenders, and in so doing we justify our guilt with blame.

3. We also redefine bitterness, by saying: "I’m not bitter; I was just deeply hurt."

4. The fact remains that we have closed off our affections to our offender.

5. But God says, "He that saith he is in the light, and hateth his brother, is in darkness even until now" cf .

6. Darkness is Satan’s realm; thus the one who is bitter is living in sin and is under Satan’s power.

7. However, "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteous- ness". cf

B. Ask God to regain surrendered ground.

1. According to , we surrender "ground" to Satan every time we let the sun go down upon our wrath.

2. For each of these times, we must ask God to regain the "ground" we gave to Satan.

3. We have the assurance that God will hear our prayer in accordance with the comforting statement of , "He restoreth my soul."

4. The Hebrew word for "restore" means "returning to the starting point."

5. We should ask God to rebuke Satan in the name and through the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ and gain the ground that Christ won by His death, burial, and resurrection.

C. Tear down strongholds with truth.

1. It is God’s responsibility to regain the ground we surrendered, but it is our responsibility to tear down the strongholds that Satan built on the territory.

2. God has given us powerful weapons of truth to accomplish this task.

3. "For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal [bitter retaliation], but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds". cf

4. We must purpose to search out and destroy every false idea or conclusion have accepted from Satan and to build up towers of truth by reading, memorizing, and meditating on Scripture.

D. Show mercy by forgiving your offender.

1. Now that we understand the spiritual destruction that comes with bitterness and how forgiveness is an aspect of mercy, we should have the motivation to fully forgive our offenders in the same way that we have been forgiven by Christ.

2. "Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: and be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you" ()

📷

How Bitterness Behaves

6 Characteristics of Bitterness

By Kurt Skelly | July 24, 2014

Bitterness destroys lives, families, and churches. Left unattended, she inevitably spreads. On her playing field, nobody wins. Recognize her early. Deal with her seriously. She is dangerous. Extremely dangerous.

Consider a few of her characteristics:

She Internalizes

Like a seed, she germinates underground, small and unseen. Quickly her roots grow, and by the time she sprouts to the public eye, she has established an extensive root system in the ground below.

Bitterness pushes the rewind button a million times. Over and over the hurtful scene is replayed in the mental cinema. In some ways, it’s almost as if the memory is granite and bitterness has etched her words there permanently.

So haunting is her story, it often greets a person in his waking moments and whispers to him as he falls asleep. And with annoying regularity she interrupts throughout the day. Every day.

Just behind the smiling face she lurks. Her poison soaks the minds of some of even the Kingdom’s busiest workers. She finds the innermost crevices of the heart and lodges there.

She Personalizes

Bitterness rarely focuses upon situations or circumstances. Nope. She is completely absorbed with people. One doesn’t have to spend too long with a bitter person before he knows exactly who the object of his bitterness is.

What he did. What she said. How they hurt me.

And it doesn’t matter if the person is well-liked and respected by others. The sole criterion for his spot at the crosshairs of bitterness is the perception of how he has treated me.

She Criticizes

“Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaketh.” Bitterness inevitably seeps out of the mouth. No matter how carefully her host endeavors to chain her, she’ll find her way out.

Somehow every conversation provides fertile ground for one new critical weed to push through the surface. Often the listener internalizes the question, “Where did that come from?”

For the embittered person, each new conversation and every new relationship is an opportunity to colonize new minds with the same old story.

She Emphasizes

She emphasizes herself. Her hurt. Her narrative. Bitterness is the ultimate narcissist. She sees everything and everyone through her distorted lens.

Perhaps the most insidious outcome of bitterness is this self-absorption. The embittered one cannot see the needs of others and the ways by which he can encourage, help, pray, and serve.

She Rationalizes

Bitterness will not see herself as sinful. She simply reacts. And her reaction is justified because your action was not.

By contrast, forgiveness refuses to use the past as evidence against the offender. Bitterness however retries the case and renders a guilty verdict a thousand times.

For some, bitterness is their comfort food, their little stash of chocolate to make them feel better. And constantly she excuses her behavior with her own little conversation: “I deserve this. I know it’s not good for me, but I deserve it. It might not make things better, but it makes me feel better. That’s all that matters right now.”

Says the alcoholic. Says the drug addict. Says bitterness.

She Demoralizes

Bitter people die a slow death. Such is the nature of the poison. Hurt begets hurt. And the expressions of bitterness inevitably isolate them from would-be encouragers or prayer partners.

Bitterness pleads loudly for her survival. And while forgiveness, humility, and Spirit-dependence offer better, life-giving arguments, they are too often unheard amid the clamorous and self-justifying protests of bitterness.

Search your own heart. Ask for God’s help. Be brutally honest in the mirror. Act quickly. When it comes to bitterness, time is not your friend.

OVERCOMING BITTERNESS

📷 BITTERNESS affects everyone. Each of us have wrestled with our personal bouts of bitterness. Usually it is a minor irritation, while at other times it can become a deep-seated sickness which affects every area of our life. Usually, it is a temporary problem which is soon resolved. At other times, it becomes a long-standing condition which lingers for a lifetime.

The world is filled with bitter, resentful people who have never come to grips with bitterness or learned to adequately deal with it. 📷

What Is Bitterness?

Bitterness can be defined as "an intense, deep-seated feeling of resentment, indignation, and ill-will against someone or something which we feel has committed an insult, injustice, or offense against us." It is an emotional response which results from failing to properly deal with feelings of personal outrage, anger, unforgiveness, and contempt.

It is a condition which can arise when we fail to adequately resolve feelings of personal injury such as being humiliated, offended, unfairly treated, slighted, misunderstood, misused, misinterpreted, wronged in some way, or having our rights violated or ignored.

How Common Is Bitterness?

The Bible warns us to be "looking diligently lest anyone fall short of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up cause trouble, and by this many become defiled" ().

Feelings of bitterness and resentment are universal. They are so common and widespread that they affect everyone at some point in their life. No one is exempt or totally immune. It strikes young and old, male and female, rich and poor, learned and unlearned, healthy and unhealthy, believers and unbelievers.

Whether bitterness is severe or mild, isolated or widespread, a short term problem or one which lingers for a lifetime, everyone has had to struggle with this area.

What Are The Effects Of Bitterness?

Bitterness breeds a wide variety of destructive conditions. It adversely affects every area of our mental, emotional, physical, social, and spiritual well-being.

Bitterness contaminates us with feelings of hostility, animosity, resentment, antagonism, hatred, suspicion, jealousy, and vindictiveness. It can quench our joy and enthusiasm for life, undermine our interest for the things of God, harden our hearts, pervert our spiritual judgment, distort our image of God, and ruin relationships.

Bitterness generates irritability, frustration, discontent, anger, apathy, stress, and feelings of rejection and condemnation. It can cause nervous tension, insomnia, physical and emotional fatigue, headaches, high blood pressure, loss of appetite, and ulcers.

How Serious Is Bitterness?

Bitterness is like a festering sore. It is a cancerous condition which can consume us with ill-will, negativity, slander, fault-finding, cynicism, criticism, complaining, and an argumentative spirit.

The Bible compares bitterness to a "root" and declares that many have been "defiled" by it ().

The scriptures speak of a "root of bitterness" because its potential effect upon our life can be as widespread and deeply embedded as the action of spreading roots which take hold and entangle our life. When bitterness is allowed to take root, it becomes an increasingly deadly and destructive problem which chokes every area of our existence. If left unchecked, it will completely contaminate us and eventually undermine our relationship with God, spell spiritual shipwreck, and seriously damage our relationships with even our closest loved ones and friends.

Common Causes Of Bitterness

1. Unfulfilled Expectations

The seeds of bitterness often take root when we fail to achieve our goals, fulfill our dreams, and realize our expectations in the timing and manner in which we had hoped.

Many feel that life has somehow cheated them. Some individuals harbor deep resentments that life has dealt them a raw deal. They may feel that God or other people have been cruel, unjust, and unfair by shortchanging them or giving them a rough break. Bitterness may stem from feeling neglected, left out, bypassed, or overlooked.

Often, it seems that the course of our lives is beyond our control. When we feel that we have no say concerning the events which befall us, we may feel trapped, frustrated, and a helpless victim of circumstances. This condition provides the fertile soil for a root of bitterness to take hold.

2. Unresolved Offenses

Conflicts with others are a common source of lingering bitterness and resentment. Arguments and quarrels can produce longstanding rifts and feelings of bitterness even between the closest loved ones and friends.

Disagreements, contentions, and strife often create offenses in our hearts. Offenses arise when we feel that an injustice has been committed against us. This can be in the form of feeling insulted, maligned, slighted, mistreated, misinterpreted, misunderstood, abused, or wronged by another party.

When interpersonal feuds, conflicts, disputes, controversies, grudges, antagonisms, jealousies, and competitiveness towards others are not resolved, our failure to reconcile them will result in increasing feelings of bitterness which poison and pollute our entire system.

3. Unresolved Anger

Bitterness and anger are closely related. Bitterness is often the by-product of an angry spirit. When we fail to deal with the sin of unrighteous anger, the consequence is often an embittered spirit.

Some individuals are infected with hostility and anger. They are consumed with an angry and antagonistic spirit. The focus of their anger can be a person, circumstance, or thing. It can even be directed against God.

Some people express their anger outwardly, while others bottle it up and secretly conceal their inner rage and frustration. Those who quietly repress their hostility generally end up with a great deal of pent-up animosity and hatred which eats away at them in the form of deep resentment and bitterness.

4. A Failure To Forgive

An unwillingness to forgive others is usually at the very heart of bitterness. When we stubbornly refuse to forgive an offending party, we begin to lay the groundwork for longlasting bitterness.

The tendency to hold a grudge, nurse a grievance, dwell upon past offenses, or keep a record of wrongs is a common cause of continuing bitterness. One of the great contributing factors in a deepening root of bitterness is a person's persistent refusal to forgive.

Many people suffer from a bitter spirit simply because of their reluctance to forgive. This failure to forgive can actually cause a person to spend a lifetime brooding over the offenses of yesterday and reinforcing their feelings of animosity, vengefulness, and resentment towards other people.

5. A Failure To Yield Our Rights

Individuals who have not genuinely submitted their lives to the Lordship of Christ or yielded their personal rights to God are particularly prone to offenses and feelings of resentment.

People who go through life demanding their own way, expecting everything to be in their favor, and for everyone to respect their rights are especially susceptible to feelings of resentment. They become bitter towards God and others when their feelings are overlooked, their freedoms violated, their plans disrupted, or their rights aren't honored.

The failure to exercise a yielded spirit or meekly surrender our rights unto God often results in resentment. This is a common reaction in those who secretly harbor the selfish, self-centered attitude that the world revolves around them. Consequently, mounting feelings of animosity and a preoccupation with bitterness arise when they discover the sobering reality that this is not the case.

6. Fellowshipping Bitterness

Sometimes a person will unconsciously acquire the bitterness and offenses of another. Bitterness is like a contagious disease which can be caught through our fellowship and contact with a bitter person.

Often an innocent person is exposed to the bitterness of another. If the relationship is close and a person fails to guard his heart or exercise godly cautions, he (or she) may subtlely fall prey to the same feelings of resentment and ill-will contained in the heart of the bitter party.

Not only can an innocent person acquire the seeds of bitterness from another, but if bitterness already exists, those feelings, may be reinforced. Bitter people often gravitate towards each other for sympathy and mutual self-justification. This common tendency often results in a deeper root of bitterness forming.

A Common Tendency

Bitter people often make excuses for their bitterness by blaming God and others. Instead of accepting responsibility for their sin, they attempt to justify their resentment by shifting the blame. They often emphasize the faults of others and rationalize their feelings of offense in order to minimize their guilt, justify their bitterness, and defend their unwillingness to deal with the problem.

However, before we can successfully overcome this problem, we must confront any unwillingness or reluctance to accept personal responsibility for our bitter feelings. Rather than pointing the finger at others, we must commit ourselves to deal with our sin in a sincere, willing, and godly manner. A refusal to do so will only result in a continuation of the problem. As long as we persist in making excuses or shifting the blame, the root of bitterness will continue to strengthen its deadly stranglehold upon our life.

How Should We Respond?

Though there are no simple, quick-fix solutions to bitterness, there are several essential steps for successfully overcoming this problem:

1. Take Immediate Action

We must recognize that we have a serious problem. We must endeavor to take prompt and decisive action against it. Bitterness is not a condition which we can afford to procrastinate about, take lightly, or allow to remain unchecked in our life. If we fail to act, it will have a devastating and far-reaching impact upon our spiritual, mental, emotional, and physical well-being.

If we allow bitterness to remain unchallenged by justifying it, minimizing its seriousness, or by ignoring the inevitable consequences, the problem will only intensity and reinforce its destructive effects upon our life.

2. We Must Sincerely Repent

"If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness" (). Repenting is a fundamental step towards overcoming bitterness.

We must go to the root of the problem by recognizing that bitterness is a serious sin which must be sincerely repented of or it will contaminate and corrupt every area of our life.

A refusal to co-operate with the convicting power of the Holy Spirit will only prolong our bitterness. We must come to a place of heartfelt brokenness and repentance before God. We must confess the sin of bitterness and ask for God's cleansing power and forgiveness. This must also include a repentance of any additional feelings of anger, hatred, animosity, vindictiveness, or lack of forgiveness. This is an essential step towards achieving a lasting victory.

3. We Must Be Willing To Forgive

We must recognize that unforgiveness is a sin which generates grievances, resentment, vindictiveness, and offenses. If a failure to forgive someone is a contributing factor in our bitterness, we must commit ourselves to genuinely forgive those who have offended us.

The Bible appeals to us to "Let all bitterness wrath, anger...be put away from you, with all malice. And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God in Christ also forgave you" (,).

We must confront any tendency on our part to hold a grudge, nurse a grievance, or dwell upon past injustices. Forgiveness is not only a preventative safeguard against potential offenses and resentment, but it is also an essential prescription for healing existing bitterness. If we will commit ourselves to forgive and permit the love to prevail, we will eliminate a major obstacle in the pathway to overcoming bitterness.

4. We Must Reconcile Offenses

If existing offenses between yourself and another are a cause of bitterness, you must take the initiative to heal the offense and reconcile the relationship according to the guidelines provided by God's Word.

No matter how inconvenient or awkward this may be, we must strive for forgiveness and reconciliation. As long as offenses continue to exist, our feelings of bitterness will continue to thrive and sink their root deeper into our hearts. It's not sufficient just to ask God to forgive us for the sin of bitterness if others are involved. We must give more than lip service to the problem. We must accept our personal responsibility to heal any existing offenses, ill-will, and misunderstandings towards those against whom we are harboring bitterness.

5. We Mus Embrace A Godly Perspective Of Life

"And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose ().

Feelings of bitterness and resentment will continue to dominate us as long as we fail to view our life from a godly perspective.

The Bible doesn't say that all things are good, but that "all things work together" for our good. This includes all of our trials, hardships, disappointments, setbacks, delays, frustrations, circumstances, handicaps, and limitations.

We must recognize that the circumstances of life which we may resent are actually a tool for God to perfect and produce His virtues, character, and good pleasure in us. We must, therefore, stand on this scriptural reality rather than allow ourselves to succumb to feelings of bitterness against either God or our life situation.

6. We Must Appropriate God's Power

If we attempt to overcome bitterness in our own strength and determination, we are doomed to failure and disappointment. We must appropriate the power and resources of the Holy Spirit through prayer.

After identifying this problem, we should begin to aggressively attack it through fervent, persistent prayer, knowing that "The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much" ().

After we have committed ourselves to following whatever steps are necessary for achieving a victory over our bitterness, we must not ignore or neglect our need for prayer. We must follow through with consistent prayer until this problem is completely eliminated. If we will bring the power of God to bear through prayer, He will impart the necessary grace, strength, and guidance to wage successful warfare and totally eradicate this problem.

7. We Must Not Fellowship Bitterness

"Make no friendship with an angry man, and with a furious man do not go, lest you learn his ways and set a snare for your soul" (,).

When fellowshipping with others, we must cautiously avoid fellowshipping with their bitterness lest we run the rist of acquiring their ways. Bitter people generate bitter feelings which can infect others. Their bitterness subtlely flavors their attitudes, speech , and judgments. Just as people can pick-up on the offenses in others, people can also be gradually influenced and contaminated by the bitter undercurrents in bitter people.

The scriptures warn us of the potentially destructive power through wrong relationships: "Be not misled: Bad company corrupts good character" (, NIV). Therefore, we must diligently avoid fellowshipping or sympathizing with the bitterness in others lest we either inherit their resentment or reinforce any existing, unresolved bitterness in our own heart.

8. We Must Exercise Preventative Maintenance

Because bitterness is such a potentially devastating condition, we must always exercise godly cautions and restraints lest we fall prey to this sin or fall back under its corrosive influence after we have recovered from it.

The scriptures exhort us to "Keep your heart with all diligence, for our of it spring the issues of life (). We must be careful not to allow offenses, misunderstandings, anger, disappointments, sensitiveness, trials, delays, setbacks, or any other factor to plant the destructive seeds of bitterness in our hearts.

The scriptures further admonish us to be "looking diligently lest...any root of bitterness springing up cause trouble" (). We must be alert, therefore, diligently guarding our attitudes, reactions, motives, confessions, and thought life. We must regularly examine each of these areas and cleanse any tendency on our part to cultivate the seeds of bitterness.

Conclusion

We have carefully examined the causes and cures for bitterness. We should review the scriptural responses which apply to our personal situation and make a determined commitment to follow them:

1. We must take immediate action. 2. We must sincerely repent. 3. We must be willing to forgive. 4. We must reconcile offenses. 5. We must embrace a godly perspective of life. 6. We must appropriate God's power. 7. We must not fellowship bitterness in others. 8. We must exercise preventative maintenance.

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Bitterness, Resentment, and Self-Pity vs. Wholesome Thoughts

Instead of bitterly brooding in self-pity and resentment, feeling sorry for ourselves about mistreatment, God's word can teach us wholesome thoughts.

Introduction:

The meaning of the principal terms as we will be using them in the study:

Bitter self-pity is closely related to other Bible subjects.

Thinking about our problems is not necessarily wrong, so we will need to examine when it may become wrong.

Pray, Trust God, and Meditate on His Word Instead of Brooding.

Examples of Bitter Self-Pity

Examples of People Who Overcame Bitterness

Appreciate God’s Blessings Instead of Dwelling on Mistreatment.

Examples of Self-Pity

Examples of Wholesome Attitudes Despite Mistreatment

Work to Help others and Serve God, Rather Than Neglecting Work to Feel Sorry for Oneself.

Examples of Self-Pity

Examples of People Who Overcame Bitterness

If Our Bitterness Involves Sin, We Must Repent and Seek Forgiveness.

Sometimes People Become Bitter Because of the Consequences of Their Sins.

Sometimes Bitter Self Pity Leads Us to Commit Sin.

Conclusions

The dangers of bitter resentment and self-pity:

Steps to overcoming the dangers of bitter resentment and self-pity:

BITTERNESS! - The Deadly Root that Devours and Destroys!

Table of Contents

I. THE HORRIBLE EFFECTS OF BITTERNESS!

A. It Will Hinder Your Relationship with the Lord and Your Service for Him!

B. Bitterness Opens the Door to the Enemy!

C. Bitterness Will Even Affect You Physically!

D. Bitterness Will Hurt and "Defile" Many Others!

​

II. WHY DO PEOPLE BECOME BITTER?

A. Fiery Trials: Will They Make You Bitter or Better?

B. Putting the Blame on God!

C. Putting the Blame on Others!

D. Bitter and Hateful Thoughts: The Devil's Evil Seeds!

E. The Voice of Bitterness: Murmuring!

​

III. HOW TO AVOID BITTERNESS!

A. Love Is the Most Important Thing!

B. "Confess Your Faults One to Another!"--

C. Keep a Positive and Thankful Outlook!

D. Guard Your Thoughts!

E. Take Things as from the Lord!--

​

IV. HOW TO GET RID OF BITTERNESS!

A. Confess You've Got It!

B. Attack, Attack, Attack!

C. "Forgive Us Our Sins as We Forgive Others"

D. Spiritual Renewal!

​

V. A PRAYER FOR DELIVERANCE AGAINST BITTERNESS!

BITTERNESS! - The Deadly Root that Devours and Destroys!

I. THE HORRIBLE EFFECTS OF BITTERNESS!

A. It Will Hinder Your Relationship with the Lord and Your Service for Him!

B. Bitterness Opens the Door to the Enemy!

C. Bitterness Will Even Affect You Physically!

D. Bitterness Will Hurt and "Defile" Many Others!

BITTERNESS! - The Deadly Root that Devours and Destroys!

Part II. WHY DO PEOPLE BECOME BITTER?

A. Fiery Trials: Will They Make You Bitter or Better?

B. Putting the Blame on God!

C. Putting the Blame on Others!

D. Bitter and Hateful Thoughts: The Devil's Evil Seeds!

E. The Voice of Bitterness: Murmuring!

BITTERNESS! - The Deadly Root that Devours and Destroys!

III. HOW TO AVOID BITTERNESS!

A. Love Is the Most Important Thing!

B. "Confess Your Faults One to Another!"--

C. Keep a Positive and Thankful Outlook!

D. Guard Your Thoughts!

E. Take Things as from the Lord!--

BITTERNESS! - The Deadly Root that Devours and Destroys!

IV. HOW TO GET RID OF BITTERNESS!

A. Confess You've Got It!