Free from bitterness
Sola Fide-102045 05/23 33964.0/1
Ever wonder how God wants us to treat someone who has wronged us? When someone has wronged us, we will naturally want to turn to bitterness and resentment...possibly even revenge...but God has a better way.
When people have wounded us or the people we love, we can feel as though we have a right to be bitter or to retaliate.
In those times, it is imperative that we remember the truths of scripture and obey God's word.
God's way is simply this: never take revenge, bless those who persecute you, pray God's blessing on them, never curse them, live at peace with everyone, be honorable in all you say or do, and conquer evil with good.
Wow! That's a very tough and tall order to follow sometimes! The more intense the offense, the tougher it can be to accomplish this difficult task.
When we take matters into our own hands, or we manipulate a situation through motives of revenge, we are stealing from God. God says that revenge is His.
He knows exactly what His purposes are for each situation He has allowed.
We tend to mess things up when we become bitter and when we refuse to trust God.
If this seems like a huge unattainable work, it helps to know that our offender is not completely the true problem. The Bible says we do not war against humans--our actual war is with the enemy...against the rulers, authorities, and powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
The enemy loves to create chaos in our lives because it keeps us far away from our LifeLine...God. If the enemy can sabotage or compromise our relationship with God, he can continue to create even more opportunities of loss in our lives.
Today, allow these verses to free you completely from your bitterness. You no longer need to plan how you are going to get back at someone...give that to God and allow Him to work mightily in your offender’s life. Your job is to live peaceably around others and to be honorable in all you do. Leave the job of holding your offender accountable to God.
He is able to mightily work in your life and your offender's heart....but you must first trust and obey His plan. God doesn't desire for your life to be bombarded with bitterness. In fact, He wants to give you life brimming with blessings....an abundant life to the fullest!
On the hardest days when we think we cannot accomplish or obey God's way of dealing with enemies, meditate on Philippians 4:13, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me!"
Ask Him for His strength, grace, and help today!
