How to Get the Root of Bitterness Gone - The Crosswalk Devotional - August 7

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How to Get the Root of Bitterness Gone
By: Kelly Balarie

Bible Reading:
“See to it that no one falls short of God’s grace; that no root of resentment springs up and causes trouble, and by it many be defiled…” – Hebrews 12:15 AMP

My husband and I have a friend. He’s one of the top national scholars for cancer medicine and research.

Curious, we asked him, “Have you identified a link between unforgiveness and bitterness with a cancer diagnosis?”

His answer? 

“Yes, in fact, my mom couldn’t forgive. She had cancer two times.”

Interestingly enough, beyond his mom, he saw a correlation. So do various scientific studies. According to the website Doctors Beyond Medicine, studies show suppressed anger and emotions are linked to cancer. They note, “emotional toxicity is most likely the cause of their cancer, and that forgiveness, if used with appropriate treatments and lifestyle changes that address the physical, is a ‘first-line’ primary treatment.”

Wow. I was astonished.

But, I wondered, what does scripture have to say about this?

“See to it that no one falls short of God’s grace; that no root of resentment springs up and causes trouble, and by it many be defiled…” (Heb. 12:15 AMP)

Biblically speaking, defilement does not only happen in thought, but it can also happen in our body, soul, and mind. 

We are the temple of God and not to defile God’s temple, our body (1 Cor. 16:19-20).
 We are instructed to be cleansed of anything defiling in body or spirit (2 Cor. 7:1)
 We learn that what defiles us is what comes out of our hearts (Mark 7:20-23). 

Clearly, I don’t have all the answers on cancer, but what I do have a clear answer on is that we don’t want to be defiled in body, soul, or mind.

This certainly made me sure that I don’t want to be “defiled.”

What about us – are we defiled? Do we harbor bitterness? Do we keep resentments, nursing them like a baby? Do we hold records of wrongs against people, convicting them via our thoughts? Might we be angry?

The irony? What we hold against others does not hurt them; it hurts us.

What pain we keep inside of us – grows within us.   We may think this doesn’t matter, that it doesn’t hurt anyone, that no one can see it, but it absolutely does hurt – us. Not only that, it oozes onto others.

Can’t we all see that person we know with a face of anger? They think no one knows, but certainly, when you look at them, you can easily identify their eyebrows furrowing in. They believe they hide it well, but it takes a second to recognize their facial tension from all they are holding in. You can feel the edginess in their responses. Their pent-up stuff doesn’t just exist in their mind; they hold it in their body, and it speaks between the lines of their words.

May this person never, ever, be us…

If we have been defiled by a root of bitterness, what we think we are hiding is most likely residing on our face, living in our body, and oozing out from our responses.

God, help.

Of course, we know that life has a way of sucker punching us. People will be people. Circumstances hurt. Offense is rampant. 

How do we forbid defilement in our body, mind, and spirit? 

We remember The One who was reviled, so that we don’t have to live defiled. Jesus.

Jesus carried the weight of our sin, so we don’t have to live under its weight. Even more, Jesus carried the weight of fellow believers’ sin, so we don’t have to live under its weight.  
 
 If Jesus forgave us so much, how can we not forgive others the same way? We can forgive much, because He forgave much. We can love much, because He loved us so much. 

Intersecting Faith & Life:

What does this look like practically?

To release from the mind, the body, and the spirit looks like something. Scripture invites us to cast our cares on the Lord (1 Pet. 5:7). “To cast”, biblically, does not look like a light and airy casting; it looks like a complete throwing off, like someone might throw a saddle on a horse.

It’s getting off of you and releasing onto Him what He already paid the price for. Why not cast your worries, cares, bitterness, anger, or resentments onto Jesus? Let Him take care of them. He will do a much better job than you will.

How did today’s devotional speak to you? Share your thoughts in the Crosswalk Devotional discussion.

Photo Credit: ©GettyImages/Parradee Kietsirikul 

Kelly uplifts believers with boosts of faith; be encouraged weekly by getting Kelly’s blog posts by email. Kelly, a cheerleader of faith, is a blogger, national speaker, and author of Take Every Thought Captive, Rest Now, Battle Ready, and Fear Fighting. Kelly loves seeing the power of prayer in action. She loves seeing the expression on women’s faces when they realize – their God is faithful! Kelly’s work has been featured on The Today Show, CBN’s 700 Club, Relevant and Today’s Christian Woman. 

Check out fantastic resources on Faith, Family, and Fun at Crosswalk.com! 

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