Timothy
March 27th, 2005, 11:03 PM
Freedom from Bitterness
By Pastor John Fredericksen
Appeared in the September 1999 issue of Berean Searchlight
Each of us struggles against the emotion of bitterness when someone treats us with insensitivity or selfishness. But bitterness is like a cancer to our soul. Hebrews 12:15 tells us it can greatly “trouble you, and thereby many [can] be defiled.” Therefore, we must follow God’s biblical path to freedom from the emotion of bitterness. It is the path of H-E-A-L-I-N-G!
Healing begins by HANDING the offender over to God! Romans 12:17-19 reminds us “Vengeance” is God’s job, and in His wisdom He “will repay” the wrongdoer. Our obligation is first, “to recompense to no man evil for evil.” Getting even only sinks us deeper into bitterness.
When EMOTIONS are given to God, healing continues. That means we act and react on the basis of biblical instruction, instead of on how we feel. It also means we forgive the offender, so that we can heal. Positive emotions will eventually follow right actions.
ACCEPTING the consequence of the offense is critical for healing. Few wrongs can truly be undone, so we have to live with it anyway. Believers can trust that our sovereign God can use even hurtful situations to our good. Therefore we can accept the wrong.
LOOKING for God’s lesson in the midst of trial also speeds the healing process. It enables us to take our focus off of what makes us bitter, and place it on to how God wants to make us better!
INVESTING good in the offender is the next step toward healing. Romans 12:20-21 tells us “if thine enemy hunger, feed him...be not overcome with evil, but overcome evil with good.” Not only is it hard to stay bitter toward someone you’re truly trying to help, it’s also difficult for a wrongdoer to continue to hurt us when we’re doing them good.
NOTING our responsibility in Scripture to forgive, is a powerful force in destroying bitterness. If we “have a quarrel against any” our obligation is to forgive “even as Christ forgave you” (Col. 3:13). This is not the natural thing to do, but we have supernatural strength to draw upon, especially when following the above steps to freedom.
GOING on with life is the last step to healing bitterness. Instead of reliving the past offense over and over again, we can make the spiritual decision to leave the past behind us and go on. After doing everything else God has told us to, He will enable us to focus on serving the Lord in the present and the future.
If this subject and study has struck a chord of need in your life, you may want to reread the account of Joseph in the book of Genesis. He followed all seven of these prin-ciples after being terribly wronged, and it enabled him to heal. But perhaps the thing you need to do first is prayerfully begin right now to implement what you have just learned. “The peace of God” is waiting to “rule in your hearts” (Col. 3:15), if you only will.
By Pastor John Fredericksen
Appeared in the September 1999 issue of Berean Searchlight
Each of us struggles against the emotion of bitterness when someone treats us with insensitivity or selfishness. But bitterness is like a cancer to our soul. Hebrews 12:15 tells us it can greatly “trouble you, and thereby many [can] be defiled.” Therefore, we must follow God’s biblical path to freedom from the emotion of bitterness. It is the path of H-E-A-L-I-N-G!
Healing begins by HANDING the offender over to God! Romans 12:17-19 reminds us “Vengeance” is God’s job, and in His wisdom He “will repay” the wrongdoer. Our obligation is first, “to recompense to no man evil for evil.” Getting even only sinks us deeper into bitterness.
When EMOTIONS are given to God, healing continues. That means we act and react on the basis of biblical instruction, instead of on how we feel. It also means we forgive the offender, so that we can heal. Positive emotions will eventually follow right actions.
ACCEPTING the consequence of the offense is critical for healing. Few wrongs can truly be undone, so we have to live with it anyway. Believers can trust that our sovereign God can use even hurtful situations to our good. Therefore we can accept the wrong.
LOOKING for God’s lesson in the midst of trial also speeds the healing process. It enables us to take our focus off of what makes us bitter, and place it on to how God wants to make us better!
INVESTING good in the offender is the next step toward healing. Romans 12:20-21 tells us “if thine enemy hunger, feed him...be not overcome with evil, but overcome evil with good.” Not only is it hard to stay bitter toward someone you’re truly trying to help, it’s also difficult for a wrongdoer to continue to hurt us when we’re doing them good.
NOTING our responsibility in Scripture to forgive, is a powerful force in destroying bitterness. If we “have a quarrel against any” our obligation is to forgive “even as Christ forgave you” (Col. 3:13). This is not the natural thing to do, but we have supernatural strength to draw upon, especially when following the above steps to freedom.
GOING on with life is the last step to healing bitterness. Instead of reliving the past offense over and over again, we can make the spiritual decision to leave the past behind us and go on. After doing everything else God has told us to, He will enable us to focus on serving the Lord in the present and the future.
If this subject and study has struck a chord of need in your life, you may want to reread the account of Joseph in the book of Genesis. He followed all seven of these prin-ciples after being terribly wronged, and it enabled him to heal. But perhaps the thing you need to do first is prayerfully begin right now to implement what you have just learned. “The peace of God” is waiting to “rule in your hearts” (Col. 3:15), if you only will.