DAY 5
Day Five: BITTERNESS WILL DESTROY YOUR LIFE!
Luke 7:48 and Ephesians 4:31-32 (NKJV)
Luke 7:48 “Then He said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.”
Luke 7 illustrates the forgiving heart of Jesus. When we do not forgive, bitterness is a poisonous seed that will find insidious ways to cut into our life and spill over into the lives of others. Regrettably, when we nurture feelings of bitterness and unforgiveness, we are in no better shape than an inmate of prison, locking ourselves up and becoming captive by our refusal to let go and forgive.
There is perhaps not a more miserable existence on earth than that of a prisoner of war. The horror stories that emerge from P.O.W.’s around the world can surely curl your hair. Without a doubt, their loneliness, deprivation, mistreatment, torture, and starvation, mixed with loss of health and hope, left some who were once strong and stable limp and emotionally disabled.
As terrible as these lingering agonies may be, there is another factor even more lamentable – the presence of unforgiveness in your life. Many a man who was a victim of mistreatment in a P.O.W. camp returned to the States liberated and free to start anew…yet, strangely, remained imprisoned in bitterness. Though delivered from bondage and reunited with family and friends, they were still held captive by their past. Bitterness is like run-off from a broken smelly sewer pipe. Every form of ugliness eventually begins to float to the surface of those murky waters: prejudice and profanity, suspicion and hate, and cruelty and cynicism. This pollution of unforgiveness will finally begin to destructively spill onto others.
Unfortunately, for the P.O.W.’s a change in location was no guarantee of a change in heart. Being released from external captors in no way means that one has automatically been released from internal corruption. You see, there is no torment like the torment of bitterness, which is the by-product of an unforgiving spirit. It refuses to be soothed, healed, and it will not forget. There is nothing more damaging in your life than the heart of unforgiveness which will continue to fester. We can become a candidate for confinement and unspeakable suffering until we fully forgive others…even when they are in the wrong.
Jesus is generous with forgiveness to all who ask in faith, and He extends His love and grace. Ephesians 4:31-32 says, “Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, just as in Christ God forgave you” (NIV).
Heavenly Father, we pray that we can put away all anger, bitterness and have a forgiving heart. There is no reason for us to be held captive a minute longer. We release our unforgiveness to you! Thank You for replacing our heart and changing our mind. Let us reach out with Your love, compassion, and understanding to those around us despite any differences we may have.
Prayer Points:
Personal: The Holy Spirit would reveal all areas of unforgiveness in our lives.
Community: World (international missions, the Gospel in Israel)
