Your Daily Devotional for September 19, 2007

 

September 19,  2007

 

 

Replacing Bitterness

by Dr. Paul Chappell

 

 

"Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering; Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye. And above all these things put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness. And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful."

 

Colossians 3:12-15

 

 

I remember a Men's Prayer Meeting we had a few years ago. Each meeting, we have a time of testimony and this time one of our bus captains stood up and told the story of a little boy he had met while bus calling. He said that one Sunday morning as he waited for a family to get ready, he began a conversation with a four-year-old boy standing on the sidewalk. As it was time to go, he said goodbye to the boy and turned to leave. The boy then said, "Goodbye, Jesus."

 

Yesterday we saw how bitterness can rob us of our joy and can cause us to fall away from God. When we allow thoughts of anger and revenge to rule our hearts, we can miss key opportunities to minister to those around us. Once we remove that bitterness, we must replace it with three things.

 

First, we must replace the feelings of anger with choices of forgiveness. We must put away the thought that we have the right to punish someone for their actions, and instead show them forgiveness. We must remember that our faith is founded on forgiveness! Romans 8:1 says, "There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit." When we realize that our forgiveness is based on God's forgiveness to us, we will be able to forgive others more easily.

 

Second, we must replace bitterness with kindness. Forgiveness is evidenced when we can speak kindly of those who have wronged us. Colossians 3:12 says, "Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering." God commands us to put on kindness. We are to not only forget the bitterness and forgive others, but we are to fill our hearts with kindness.

 

As much bitterness as we may have felt toward that person, our forgiveness and kindness could make the difference in that person's life. We may never know what someone is going through in their lives. Even when someone has bitterness or anger toward us, they may be feeling hurt or neglected themselves. We must forgive them and show them kindness instead. It may be our way of helping them in their time of need.

 

Last, we must allow God to replace our hard hearts with tender hearts. When bitterness enters our hearts, it can cause us to grow cold and hard-hearted toward others. Many people lose all trust and confidence in other people based on their own hurt and past experiences. We must not be like that but must remain tender-hearted to God and to those around us!

 

Is there bitterness in your heart today? Have you let go of those hurt feelings, or does anger and bitterness still rule your heart? We must not let the devil use bitterness to rob our joy! We must replace that bitterness with forgiveness, kindness, and a tender heart. Ask God right now to help you remove the bitterness and replace it in your life today.

 

 

Daily Bible Reading

Ecclesiastes 1-3 • 2 Corinthians 11:16-23

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