Emotions: Bitterness

1. WIKIPEDIA says that bitterness (or resentment) is a complex,

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   emotion that has been described as a mixture of disappointment and disgust, anger and fear.

2. WEBSTERS says bitterness is distasteful or distressing to the

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   , marked by intensity or severity, accompanied by severe pain or suffering, being relentlessly determined, exhibiting intense animosity, and being harshly reproachful.

3. Bitterness is an emotion that can eat us from the

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   , like poison or cancer!

4. King Solomon, the most gifted man with God’s wisdom, said in Proverbs 26:17: He that passeth by, and meddleth with strife belonging not to him, is like one that taketh a

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   by the
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   .

5. 7 truths regarding bitterness:

   1. It starts out
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      and is “expert” in burrowing into our heart.
   2. Satan will cause us to
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      our offenses in our minds, making deep ruts that we can hardly escape from.
   3. Bitterness causes us to want to gather
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      against our offender.
   4. It causes us to
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      other reasons to feel resentment towards them.
   5. Every new bit of news we hear about them causes another
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      of bitterness to form.
   6. As the Hebrew writer had inferred, bitterness will act like a
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      poison or cancer, destroying us from the inside out.
   7. If we’re not sharing our offense with others, we mistakenly
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      ourselves into thinking no one notices our bitterness, but it truly is obvious to those around us.

6. Bitterness and anger are connected and similar, but bitterness is a more

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   -
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   consistent feeling of anger, rather than the short-fuse, explosive kind.

7. God has given us the ability to feel anger and resentment so that we can be

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   of injustice and other kinds of personal injury.

8. When we are injured, we should

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   and
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   pain and bitterness to lead us to do what we can to protect ourselves and bring resolution and healing.

9. It’s easy to get hurt, but it hurts

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   when it comes from family members, and people who are supposed to be your friends.

10. It’s interesting how God used the evil things done to Joseph to

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    rescue His people, and used the evil things done to Jesus to
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    rescue His people from eternal death and hell.

11. When we’re tempted to be bitter, some better options are:

    1. Take our wounds to
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       .
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       picking the scab.
    3. Realize that bitterness in our heart is
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       than our wounds.
    4. Know in our hearts that according to Psalm 147:3 – God
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       the brokenhearted and bandages their wounds.

12. When we’re tempted to be bitter, we need to trust in the sovereignty of God in every situation, and realize that He is aware and

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    things to help us grow!

13. Someone said, “You can tell the maturity level of a person by how quickly they

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    from a wound.”

14. We must choose to love, and when we do, it might not change those who hurt us, but it

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    change us!