I’ve been working through bitterness. A deep reflection of my heart revealed lingering symptoms of unforgiveness, anger, and resentful feelings. The result is hostility toward the person and situation that left me feeling this way.
When experiencing pain, abuse, and abandonment, resentment creeps in. It stems from disappointment, unmet expectations, or hurt feelings. Especially when others’ choices take us down roads we never thought we’d wander. In the aftermath of addiction, bitterness enters from multiple areas.
The cycle of substance use is nauseating.
One day, I felt encouraged by progress, but the next, I faced setbacks like considering bailing them out of jail or cleaning up bottles and needles, showing the dramatic swing of addiction.
Bitterness is poison to our souls. It saturates our being with false justification, making hope feel distant and spiritual connection fragile. (Why wouldn’t you be bitter? Look at what they’ve done or at the situation you are in.) To live in the toxic feelings of resentment, sadness, and anger is to live outside of God’s will for your life.
Locked in a mental or emotional state of bitterness, we are eaten alive by internal corrosion. We struggle to hear God’s voice through the screaming of our enraged feelings and the walls we erect. While lost in our reaction, we are misguided by a sense of being right in our feelings.
However, being right in our feelings is not being righteous to God.
Bitterness comes with a spirit that refuses reconciliation. Once you tether to unforgiveness, you separate from God. He is willing to walk you through your experience, but He can’t do that if you leave him behind.
I know what it’s like to stay locked in another’s addiction. It’s like living in a prison but holding the keys to escape. Our fear freezes our every movement and thought. While we can walk out at any time, our love digs in and says, “One more try, one more try.” We blink, and one more try has turned into years of trying.
I looked down, saw the key, and let myself out of the prison years ago. As I took my first step from the cell addiction that put me in, I was stung by emotions. Among them, bitterness.
As I confronted my own healing, I turned to God, surrendering my bitterness and trusting His power to restore my life and peace.
The Bible is a great help to those working through the consequences of the world. A bitter person is often resentful, cynical, harsh, cold, relentless, and unpleasant to be around. That was me. The enemy loved.
Hebrews 12:5 tells us: See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that no “root of bitterness” springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled;
Planting the root is exactly what I did.
It started with one memory, then another, and spread like wildfire. Mostly negative experiences marked my recollection of the time spent in addiction. To cross the bridge to restoration, I had to face each memory one by one. Yet, instead of fertilizing the hope of my recovery from their addiction, I enriched the resentment and grew my bitterness.
The only remedy was a solid confession and help from God. His love would cultivate a foundation of acceptance and forgiveness. Within His guidance, the Lord planted the seeds of understanding and compassion. My soul slowly reclaimed what bitterness had taken away. No longer fueled by energized anger, I calmly released the weight of sin..
Family addiction is rough. It leaves people torn and wrecked. Just when we move toward healing and recovery from an addiction we don’t have, it batters us again and again. Addiction assaults us long after we walk out of it’s hold. The aftermath is crushing. The longer we are beaten down, the stronger bitterness becomes. It withstands our fear, conspires with our anger, and enjoys disrupting our connection with God.
Though it churns up now and then, I won’t live tied down in resentment or vengeance. God can take it from here. I have no desire to stand in His place and live from a monument of judgment. I am humbly aware of my place, worshipping the Lord
Part of worship is to emulate his forgiveness toward me in my relationships with others. As it’s said, the reciprocal nature of forgiveness is emphasized in Matthew 6:14-15: “For if you forgive men their trespasses, your Heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive yours”. This highlights the importance of humility and the desire for spiritual peace through forgiving others.
The Bible is clear and to the point about living in bitterness. Don’t do it.
Bitterness is another tool Satan pulls out of his dirty bag of tricks. His goal is to separate us from God and that is all that matters. In resentment, envy, and anger you can’t live in the fruit of the Spirit- love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. It’s not possible. And the canyon widens.
As you begin to surrender and release the burden of sin, you will come closer to God and He will help you through. Your thoughts will become His thoughts. You will not be alone.
Every day, we long to have our loved ones back. The pain stands. Through Christ, we can do all things. Including living without anger and bitterness weighing us down. You’ve got this, because He’s got you!
♥️Lisa
joy #faith #holyspirit #christian #praise #jesus #truth #god #bitterness #anger #love #forgiveness
Lisa @ Authentic Truths 