Looking carefully lest anyone fall short of the grace ofGod; lest any root of bitterness springing up cause trouble.
Hebrews12:15
Bitterness has a tenacious way of taking root deep within the soul and resisting all efforts to weed it out. Bitterness occurs formany reasons. It might come from deep hurts you received as a child,hurts you cannot forget. Time, rather than diminishing the hurt, onlyseems to sharpen the pain. Bitterness can result from the hurtfulwords of a friend or coworker. Often the person who hurt you is unaware of the extent of your bitterness.
You find yourself rehearsingthe offense over and over again, each time driving the root ofbitterness deeper within your soul. Bitterness can derive from a senseof being unjustly treated. Bitterness is easy to justify. You can getso used to a bitter heart that you are even comfortable with it, butit will destroy you. Only God is fully aware of its destructivepotential. There is nothing so deeply imbedded in your heart thatGod’s grace cannot reach down and remove it. No area in your life isso painful that God’s grace cannot bring total healing. No offensecommitted against you is so heinous that God’s love cannot enable youto forgive. When you allow bitterness to grow in your life, you rejectthe grace of God that can free you. If you are honest before God, youwill admit the bitterness and allow God to forgive you. Bitternessenslaves you, but God is prepared to remove your bitterness andreplace it with His peace and joy.
