Conquering Bitterness

No sane person wants to be bitter.  We know better.  Bitterness is a poison that corrodes our hearts.  One person said that being bitter is like drinking poison and hoping that someone else will die.So, how can we beat bitterness?  The first thing we need to do is understand when bitterness happens.  Most often, bitterness begins when a person has been treated unfairly either by another person or by the circumstances of life.

Having been treated unfairly the person begins to think about it over and over again?  How could she have done that to me?  How could he have treated me like that?  Why is it that I never get any breaks?  This kind of stewing over some injustice, whether real or perceived, is the essence of bitterness.

The key to conquering business is stop dwelling on the unfairness of the situation and how you have been treated and to fix your heart and mind on Almighty God.  In particular, if you are a Christian, you should remember two things.

• First, God is sovereign and He is working all things together for your good.  God was not surprised by the person who treated you unfairly.  God knows about it and is working in and through it.  Trust Him.

Joseph’s brothers sold him into slavery.  Later when Joseph had the perfect opportunity to get even with them he said, “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good.”

Rather than becoming bitter, Joseph trusted in the providence of God.

• Second, remember that God is perfectly just.  Vengeance belongs to God and he will take care of it.  A man named Alexander harmed Paul.  Paul resisted the temptation to seek revenge.  Rather, he said, “Alexander the metalworker did me a great deal of harm. The Lord will repay him for what he has done (2 Ti 4:14).”