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Hello Beloved,
There are events in life that leave their mark on us and can make us bitter. Personally, several years ago, the death of a brother in my cell group just after his baptism made a deep impression on me. Indeed, after the prayer, he went swimming with other brothers and was unfortunately dragged away by the waters. When the firemen found his body, I prayed God to bring him back to life, in vain! After that tragedy, my reputation was damaged because I was eventually called all sorts of names. This sad event had mostly left a root of bitterness within me. How could such a tragedy happen after a baptism? Why didn’t God bring him back to life when I prayed? Why did God allow this? I was asking myself all these questions. This trauma had mainly made me bitter regarding baptisms. Because of the root of bitterness, just thinking about it pierced my heart! I was frustrated! But how could I not baptize brothers and sisters whilst this was a divine recommendation (Matthew 28:19)?
To heal me, the Lord first spoke to me about His sovereignty. He made me understand that the brother was with Him, in His heavenly bliss. He then asked me, months later, to go baptize another person in the same place. It was difficult but I obeyed in order to deal with the fear and trauma I had suffered. As I was baptizing the person, I was crying in my soul, but it was through this process that God finally removed the root of bitterness from my heart!
“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” says the Bible in Hebrews 12:15. Yes, Beloved, bitterness deprives you of divine grace. By constantly dwelling on it, it produces trouble and infection. “Remember my affliction and roaming, the wormwood and the gall. My soul still remembers and sinks within me“, says Jeremiah in Lamentations 3:19. Bitterness poisons the soul! The Bible insists:”… a root of bitterness… “, a little bitterness can deprive you of grace.
What made you bitter? The divorce? The loss of a loved one or a job? An accident? An unfair treatment? Have you been disappointed, hurt, frustrated by a loved one or an event? The Holy Spirit wants to heal you and heal the wound of your heart. “He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds“, says the Bible in Psalms 147:3. He wants you to become aware of the infinite love of Christ and His infinite goodness. If He leads you, as He did for me, to confront your fear in one way or another, let Him guide you in this direction.
For example, apologize and forgive the person who hurt you. Were you criticized by a relative? Think of the day when you yourself criticized or hurt someone – yet God showed you mercy ! So, don’t hold it against the person who hurt you. Cultivate the art of loving and forgiving yourself and your neighbour. Learn to deal with the offenses that the unfortunate circumstances of life have inflicted on you. God wants to fill you with all kinds of favors, spiritual, emotional, physical, material, financial, etc. So, deal with your ego and overcome bitterness so that you don’t deprive yourself of divine grace!
May God bless you Beloved
Pastor Mohammed
Proverbs 4:23
“Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life”.
Matthew 28:19
“Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit”.
Psalms 34:18
“The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart, and saves such as have a contrite spirit”.
Psalms 107:20
“He sent His word and healed them, and delivered them from their destructions”.
Job 5:18
“For He bruises, but He binds up; He wounds, but His hands make whole”.
Isaiah 30:26
“Moreover the light of the moon will be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun will be sevenfold, as the light of seven days, in the day that the Lord binds up the bruise of His people and heals the stroke of their wound”.
Ephesians 4:31
“Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice”.
1 Samuel 30:6
“Now David was greatly distressed, for the people spoke of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved, every man for his sons and his daughters. But David strengthened himself in the Lord his God”.
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