From Bitter To Better!
“ Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor [perpetual animosity, resentment, strife, fault-finding] and slander be put away from you, along with every kind of malice [all spitefulness, verbal abuse, malevolence]”-Ephesians 4:31 AMP
Bitterness can simply start off as hurt. Combined with emotional pain towards whatever or whoever provoked that hurt, causing the individual to believe there was evil intent. As a result, the person is left feeling wronged, producing grief [resentment].
Bitter people tend to operate from a blaming perspective. Often accusing others of what went wrong or when things didn’t go according to their expectations. Creating a scapegoat is easier at times to deal with your resentment towards unforeseen troubles. The agony of bitterness can cause you to blame God or someone else for the work of Satan, sin, or self.
Why Me?
“If I have sinned, what [harm] have I done to You,
O Watcher of mankind?
Why have You set me as a target for You,
So that I am a burden to myself?”-Job 7:20 AMP
Troubles aren’t always a result of something we necessarily did wrong. Troubles are no proof of a man's wickedness. Like in The Book of Job, Satan wanted God to test Job’s faith. According to Satan, Job was only devoted to God because he was blessed with prosperity and was only a good servant because his faith had never been tested.
Satan challenges God, doubting that Job’s reverence and devotion will endure if he loses everything. Finally, God permits Satan to test Jobs' righteousness, giving him power [temporarily] over all that Job had. Though not allowing Satan to lay a hand on “the man himself”-(Job 1:12).
Much like Job, God does allow His children to be tested; God permits troubles for many reasons such as :
To purify and refine men- as a Father; to make them better men- (Job 33:14-30)
So that men would learn patience while trusting God-(Romans 5:1-11; James 5:10-11)
Testing men through the attacks of Satan-(1 Corinthians 10:12-13)
That men [critics] would humble themselves -(Job 42:7)
Job cried out in chapter 7:11- “ I will complain in the bitterness of my soul.” Falsely accusing God of being responsible for all of our troubles isn’t the answer (Job 42:3). Grumbling and complaining is a negative attitude that reveals underlying anger which is a symptom of a bitter spirit. God doesn’t want us to blame and criticize Him as the source of trouble but to seek Him in trouble.
Gods Perspective Matters
Job wanted answers from God. He calls upon the Lord God Almighty, and He actually responds![God's response Job 38:1-18] Job wanted to know why bad things happen to good people? God's answer to Job speaks volumes to us as humans even today. We beyond understanding [How God works] may endure suffering without knowing why. At times facing trauma, but we shouldn’t allow ourselves to become a victim of it.
God wants us to trust Him! He wants us to align our outlook on trials to His perspective. I believe this was the key to Jobs' triumphant outcome because he confessed in (Job 42:3),- “Therefore [I now see] I have [rashly] uttered that which I did not understand, things too wonderful for me, which I did not know.”
StoryTime
I know personally how damaging it can be to live with bitterness and unforgiveness. Some years ago, the Lord revealed to me the reason behind why I had experienced an illness in my body from 2015-2018. At that particular time, I had been having issues with my thyroid. I lost over 5o pounds in less than 2 months, and I was experiencing the classic symptoms such as tremors, fatigue, lethargy, irritability, memory loss, among many other things. God showed me where I had allowed bitterness to take root and mature into resentment because of unresolved indiscretions with my husband from early on in our marriage. I knew this revelation to be true because even the thought of being done wrong would cause a tightness right in my neck. It felt like a massive ball that would just sit there and tighten. I began to develop feelings of hate toward my spouse because I couldn’t get past all the hurt and pain.
I received deliverance from all of these issues while in prayer one day in my bedroom while watching a beloved ministry via a word of knowledge, and I received my healing there. When I went back to my doctors, the condition had reversed along with all of its symptoms. Even though the physical ailment had been reversed, I had to ask God for wisdom and strategies to maintain my healing and deliverance. I had to invest in my emotional healing through getting materials and seeking out wise counsel to mend the areas in my heart and marriage so God could bring restoration.
This has been a continuous process, and it has produced wonderful results- coupled with living a prayerful and fasted lifestyle. God is a good good father!
1 Peter 5:7 says, “casting all your cares [all your anxieties, all your worries, and all your concerns, once and for all] on Him, for He cares about you [with deepest affection, and watches over you very carefully].
God wants to deliver, heal and restore you today!
Lets Pray:
Heavenly Father, in the name of Jesus, I come before your throne of grace and mercy today, and I confess all my sins to you[mention those sins], and I ask you to forgive me. Let the precious blood of Jesus Christ wash and cleanse me from all my sins.
I also forgive every person who has ever wronged or hurt me; in the mighty name of Jesus Christ.
I repent and renounce the spirit of anger, bitterness, resentment, unforgiveness, retaliation, and hate against any person who has offended me.
I ask that you would release a spirit of forgiveness and your perfect love that cast out all fear upon me in Jesus's name.
Lord, forgive me for these things I have done that have opened the door to evil curses and evil foundations into my life and the lives of my family members in Jesus's name.
Lord, create in me a clean heart and renew a right spirit within me. Help me to live a holy and righteous life today. Fill me afresh with the Holy Spirit and your fire. Empower me through your Holy Spirit to be consecrated unto you from today in Jesus's name. I pray Amen and Amen.
-Sierra Cookson
Prayer Reference:
ElBlessing, Kay. Freedom From Generational Curses and Strongholds. Silver Spring, MD, CT Printing And Graphics, 2013.
Where this book can be purchased:
Email:ookaku55@yahoo.com
good job
ReplyDeleteThank you💜
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