THE ROOT OF BITTERNESS

…”looking carefully lest anyone fall short of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up cause trouble, and by this many become defiled;”

-Hebrews 12:15 (NKJV)

I spoke to a dear sister in Christ recently who was really struggling with some decisions her husband had made and as she spoke, I could not help but notice the anger and the bitterness she had in her heart toward her husband at that moment. This conversation made a profound impact on my day and my life as I contemplated her situation and prayed for her, the Holy Spirit convicted me of my own sin. I too had bitterness toward my husband beginning to sprout in my heart. What started as a righteous desire for my husband and my family had turned into an ugly weed of bitterness, but how did this happen? Oh yes, instead of taking that righteous desire to the Lord in prayer and allowing Him to do the work in my husband, I decided to try to make him change in my own strength with the words from my mouth and when that didn’t work, bitterness began to grow almost unnoticed until that very moment. As I began to examine this root of bitterness, I noticed that there was a small blossom emerging. What could this tiny blossom be? Oh now I recognize it, that tiny blossom emerging that looks so pretty on the outside was the blossom of self-righteousness. While my initial desires were righteous, I had allowed them to sow a seed of bitterness that was not of the Lord which if left alone to grow and flourish would only produce more bitterness, self-righteousness and ultimately trouble for my marriage and my family. This root of bitterness needed to be exterminated and I needed a professional, so I took it to the Lord and after repenting and asking for forgiveness, the Lord was faithful to exterminate the root of bitterness that had begun to sprout in my heart and it’s emerging blossoms of self-righteousness, leaving behind a heart of humility and thankfulness for the blessing of my husband.

It is so easy to allow bitterness to take root in your heart. It may begin with an unfulfilled desire, covetousness, or the residual pain after you have been hurt by another. Whatever the cause, the root of bitterness may spring up in your heart and go unnoticed until it causes trouble and it cannot be ignored any longer. However, the conviction of the Holy Spirit is critical here, for He must reveal the root of bitterness before we can take it to the Lord for extraction. Do you have a root of bitterness springing up in your heart? Not sure? Ask the Lord to search your heart and reveal to you any bitterness within.

COACH'S CALL TO ACTION

• Ask the Lord to search your heart and reveal to you any bitterness within.
  
• What was revealed to you?
  
• If any root of bitterness is revealed, repent and ask for forgiveness.
  
• What did the Lord replace your root of bitterness with?

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