The Poison of Bitterness

The biggest hindrance to living a life of blessing is a heart filled with bitterness. The Bible says that out of the heart flows the issues of life. When we don't deal with our feelings and get them under control, we will certainly be entrapped by them. As a certified life coach and prayer counselor, I've listened and helped many people over the years with issues of bitterness and unforgiveness. Honestly, more times than not, they are so deeply entrenched in bitterness that it affects their life on every side.

Bitterness truly is a poison that contaminates us. So how is bitterness described? I find the definition of it to be very interesting. Webster defines it as an "intensity or severity of distress or hatred causing an extremely harsh or cruel feeling". The synonym for bitterness is venom, which we all know is poison! The Bible describes bitterness in Acts 8:23 in stating that to be poisoned by bitterness is also to be bound by iniquity. Yuck! That is not something I desire to be connected to. How about you?

So my next question is this; why do so many of us allow our hearts to be poisoned by such an unhealthy thing? Imagine the depth of spiritual damage this can cause over an extended period of time. It can cause health issues, it can affect our mental state, it can influence us to make bad decisions because we're basing those decisions off of unhealthy emotions. Bottom line ... bitterness and unforgiveness is a direct act of willful disobedience. When we step into bitterness, we step out of God's covering. In essence, we tie God's hands of being able to intervene on our behalf.

God will not move in situations or circumstances that are wrapped in a web of disobedience. We tie God's hands! The result of walking in the flesh is essentially connected to obeying the human nature and embracing sin. God says we are to walk in love and forgiveness because this is His Nature. In our flesh, bitterness is birthed through an offense. When the offense takes place we find ourselves walking out the first step of this offense by continually concentrating on it. We eat, sleep and breathe the offense. It starts to roll over in our minds like a silent movie and then what happens? It begins to fester inside of us.

Then the next step is we begin to talk about this offense with other people. Many times it becomes the hot topic of discussion with everyone we're in close proximity with. Now, we're not only pondering the offense, we're talking about the offense. What started with an offense, has not become a wound. And if this wound is not taken immediately to the foot of the Cross, it has the potential to become infected. The more it progresses, the more powerful it becomes.

The infection begins to surface in many different ways, but the one i"m going to focus on is the outward symptoms of it. Remember, the outward symptoms are only displaying the inward condition. We develop negative attitudes and a condemning spirit. We may even find it difficult to say anything good or positive about the other person we're at odds with. Our words have now become W.O.M.D (weapons of mass destruction). Whenever our mouths are spewing forth bitterness, they cannot minister the love of God. We cannot expect to make a difference in the Kingdom of God if the contents of our words are filled with bitterness, anger and resentment.

We will not speak life, we will speak death. Here's the truth, bitterness and unforgiveness has the potential to erupt every time you are offended, hurt or wronged by someone. All of us have experienced one or more of these feelings, so this makes every one of us candidates for harboring bitterness and unforgiveness. Hurt feelings are a natural response to injustice that's committed against us. I'm not saying that hurt feelings are sinful. What I am saying is that if they are not kept in proper perspective and brought to the Cross, they become sinful.

Be blessed :) and it is my prayer that this has shed a little more light on the effects of bitterness. I pray that every person reading this blog can identify this bitterness and unforgiveness in their own lives, if it exists and take it directly to the Cross. Don't allow this to hinder you and hold you in bondage. God has great things in store for all of you! Shine for Him!
Until next time,
Tracy Cavelli Trussell ;)