Dealing With The Root of Bitterness

Hebrews 12:15, “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;”

In this fallen world, sins are committed, accidents happen, and illnesses come our way; and these trials sometimes turn into bitterness. The Bible says that this bitterness is like a root lying underneath the surface of our being. We can look healthy and great on the surface, but underlying troubling roots will eventually spring up.

Squeeze an orange with enough pressure, and you will get orange juice. Squeeze a bitter person, and he will ooze bitterness. You will not know that bitterness is underneath one’s surface until it springs up. This is why we must “look diligently” lest bitterness destroy us and those around us.

Every hurt that you have ever experienced stays tucked away in your memory.   A picture, a song, or even a smell can trigger that distant memory. You have no mechanism to remove old history. The memory is there.  It will always be true that _______ happened. There is no removal of the root and thus no removal of the source of bitterness.

Rather, the remedy for bitterness is getting your mind in healthy spiritual shape by constant, repetitious exercise. A bitter person must realize that he is going to go into spiritual cardiac arrest unless he makes some lifestyle changes. Just as one must practice daily Bible reading and prayer to experience growth, he must follow an exercise regimen to rid him of the hostile foe called bitterness.

• The Exercise of Actively Forgiving My Offender. When I forgive you, I am cancelling the debt you owe me and not bringing it up again! For instance, most marriage problems are not caused by a spouse being hysterical but rather by their being historical. Colossians 3:19 says, “Husbands, love your wives, and be not bitter against them.” Jesus taught us to pray daily, “And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.” (Matthew 6:12) The Devil tells me to pick up the debt again. The Lord tells me put down again, again, and again. Forgiveness is a daily exercise.
• The Exercise of Having Faith in God. Bad things happen to God’s children, but they must continually place the bad things into His care. Consider these promises from God:

Genesis 50:20, “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.”

Romans 8:28, “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.”

• The Exercise of Filtering My Thoughts. “I can’t keep a bird from flying over my head, but I can keep him from building a nest in my hair.” Random thoughts and remembrances will enter our minds, but we must filter them by God’s Word. In Philippians 4:8, God tells us what we have permission to think about. God also tells us to give up our rights to have evil thoughts against anyone. We are to conquer our thoughts by yielding them to Christ in prayer. “Lord, help me I’m having this thought or feeling toward this person, I forgive them…”

Philippians 4:8, “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.”

2Co 10:4-5 (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;