Kill It!

Ephesians 4:^31-32 “Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.” (NIV, emphasis added)

So, how do I get rid of bitterness? To get rid of all bitterness, we do what the Bible says in our anchor scripture. The first is Kill Bitterness With Compassion. And the second is Kill Bitterness With Forgiveness.

Ephesians 4:^31-32 Get rid of all bitterness… Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.” (NIV, emphasis added). Forgive? Yes, forgive. You do not have any idea what they did to me. Honestly, I do not but God does. God sees, God knows, and God rewards. Forgive them, that is what God requires of you so that you are not in prison. Like someone said and rightfully so, that bitterness is like drinking poison and wishing the other person would die. You cannot be drinking poison. Forgive them, do not drink the poison.

But does that mean they will go scot-free? God is a God of justice. Do not worry. The God of justice has told you to forgive them, so just forgive them. Ephesians 4:³² “…forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you…” (NIV, emphasis added). So how do you forgive? You forgive just like Jesus forgave you. How did Jesus forgive you; how did Jesus forgive me? Completely! Jesus forgave us freely, generously, absolutely, entirely, and unconditionally. That is how Jesus forgave us. Romans 12:¹⁸ “If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.” (NIV). While you cannot control what people do, you can control how you respond.

You always have three options with everything bad that has happened to you. You can choose to Relive it. Relieving it is like watering the seed and giving room for it to take root in the ground. You can choose to Rehearse it. Rehearsing it does you no good either. Or you can choose to Release it. Release it and let go of the hurt through compassion or forgiveness. This is what God expects from us. Forgive and release the person and the hurt to God, the Judge of all the earth. I pray in the Name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth that you will find grace today to release every hurt that has been done to you, every pain, every offense in the Name of Jesus (say Amen).

Bitterness has a dangerous root that produces poisonous fruit. Romans 12:²¹ “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” (NIV, emphasis added). You kill bitterness with Compassion and with Forgiveness. So, for every root of bitterness that you have identified, kill it with Compassion and with Forgiveness. Remember that Jesus forgave you freely, generously, absolutely, entirely, and unconditionally. Therefore, go and do likewise.

Prayer: Father, I ask for the grace to release every hurt that has been done to me, in Jesus Name. Amen!