The First Step

“You have heard the law that says, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you!” Matthew 5.43-44 (NLT, emphasis mine)

“Lord, is there any bitterness in my life?” I asked the question half-heartedly knowing that there wouldn’t be. I had just worked through a seven year stretch of bitterness and felt pretty sure that there couldn’t be any more.

How wrong I was! Bitterness had burrowed deep into my soul. With every wrong done to me I allowed it to tunnel deeper and deeper, until it became a part of me. I relished the bitterness. I was sure I must be in the right.

“Each heart knows its own bitterness, and no one else can fully share its joy.” (Proverbs 14.10 NLT)

God’s illuminating truth revealed the corruption of my heart. But how do I yank this out of my life? Where do I go?

“Come to ME” (Matthew 11:28-29).

Pray for those who have wounded you, for those who have done you wrong. Prayer does the unexplainable, in the heart of the one who prays.

What about you? Have you asked God to show you the bitterness that lurks in your own heart? Are you praying for those who have hurt you and done you wrong?

Lord, I surrender my bitterness to You, all the those things I used to justify my bitterness because I was wronged. I NEVER want to add another brick to my wall of bitterness. Root out this darkness in me and teach me to come to You. Amen.

by Kristi Huseby