Root of Bitterness

Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord: 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… [Hebrews 12:14-15]

Bitterness in the heart is like a nasty weed in a beautiful garden. Bitterness will feed, grow, spread, and produce buds of bitterness in other plants… in other lives. Bitterness comes from a hardened heart, a heart hardened by sin [Hebrews 3:13]. A heart un-repentive.

A bitter heart is easy to detect--just listen to the words… [Ephesians 4:31] followed by behavior unbecoming holiness—godliness—a heart bound by sin [Acts 8:23].

This heart can be released from these chains… but it takes brokenness. The pride must be crushed; hope in oneself must be extinguished, all reliance shattered. When this occurs, the Lord will come to the rescue [Psalm 34:18] and heal the wounds [Psalm 147:3].

Our heavenly Father cares more about us than we know. His attention is on each of us as we rise in the morning… as we go through our day… as we face trials and hardships. Obstacles along our daily pathway get our eyes off of ourselves and our surroundings and back on God and his ways. When we miss a pathway and then refuse to turn-a-round (repent) sin will harden our heart so that we can press on down a pathway that is not of the Lord’s choosing… but even there… even along that darkened pathway… our Father is watching and waiting for our hearts to turn to him-to turn around-and walk the broken pathway his way…

*a prayer~Father, our hearts our prone to bitterness. We easily become self-willed, proudful, and even arrogant. Thank you for sending obstacles our way! Thank you for trials and tests. Thank you for hardships, heartaches, lonliness, tears, and brokenness. We are your creation-we can do nothing on our own. We are thankful for mercy, for goodness, and for your love. Teach us to comfort others...

The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise[Psalm 51:17].