06/03/2026
Devotions With Pastor Bob “Dealing With Bitterness & Resentment”
Ephesians 4:31
“Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, brawling, and slander, along with every form of malice.”
The Greek word for bitterness is “Pikria” which translates to “Sticky.”
No matter what has been done to us, no matter how bad it was, or how often it was done to us, or who it came from, bitterness is an unsound mental attitude which is never acceptable to God.
The root of bitterness is never healthy for those who have it.
It rarely harms the targeted person, or corrects the origin of the resentment.
But like burning embers, bitterness can smolder before combustion into a major flare up.
And when it flares up, who does it hurt the most? You!
The effects of resentment is like picking up some of those burning hot coals and
holding them in your hand while you gauge just when and who to fling it at.
Sure the flaming missiles may bounce off the object of your anger, but who's injured the most?
Bitterness is like drinking poison and expecting it to hurt someone else.
Ask yourself these three questions
Who or what do I have bitterness toward? (God, yourself, others?)
Is there a deep anger that I’ve never dealt with?
Is this poison consuming me and affecting others in my life?
It’s one thing to be angry for a minute or two,
but to allow your anger to blow over into resentment, until a spirit of bitterness takes you completely over, is quite another thing.
It is a very troublesome thing!
Once the root of bitterness stems its tenacious blossoms over your heart, it is near impossible to try to remove.
It’s like trying to remove those dried out, caked on, bugs off the front grill of your car after a long road trip. You need to exert very special, hard pressed efforts for removal.
If we harbor bitterness in our hearts, it is one of the most cancerous emotions existing.
Anger is like a fire, when controlled it can be beneficial, but when it gets out of control it is like a wild fire it destroys anything in its way.
Held-in hostility and hatred, known as the “spirit of bitterness,” causes stress. Stress is the self-imposed evil root that can devastate our immune systems and our health.
But you may argue and say: “Brother, you don’t know me, you don't know how
I’ve been hurt. You don’t know what was done to me”
You're right, I don't know. I've not walked the paths of your life nor faced the exact troubles you've confronted.
But you need to ask; “How did Jesus respond as he was crucified?”
The Bible tells us he could have dispatched legions of angels to save himself,
or used His supernatural powers to strike his enemies dead. But he didn’t, did he? He simply requested, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” A simple message we all could echo in times of strife.
Most people think they are totally and completely free of bitterness.
However, that’s not necessarily the truth.nYou see, bitterness creeps in, slowly. You can not see it within yourself. You may not even be aware that it’s hardening your heart.
Even if you can't feel or see the inward symptoms of hostility, look deep within your own mind and heart.
Is there resentment there against any person, any authority, or even any other time in your life when “things” didn't go your way.
Get rid of hatred, extend forgiveness, extend peace, not only for yourself, but for the sake of others as well.
Luke tells us in Acts 8:18-23,
When Simon saw that the Spirit was given at the laying on of the apostles’
hands, he offered them money and said, “Give me also this ability so that
everyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.”
Peter answered:
“May your money perish with you, because you thought you could buy the gift of God with money! You have no part or share in this ministry, because your heart is not right before God.
Repent of this wickedness and pray to the Lord in the hope that he may forgive you for having such a thought in your heart. For I see that you are full of bitterness and captive to sin.”
Hebrews 12:14-16,
Work at living in peace with everyone, and work at living a holy life,
for those who are not holy will not see the Lord.
Look after each other so that none of you fails to receive the grace of God.
Watch out that no poisonous root of bitterness grows up to trouble you, corrupting many.
The book of Hebrews identifies the root of bitterness and shows that roots grow in two directions, in and out.
Inward, a root grows by digging deeper and latching on everything it can consume to flourish and grow on the inside you. You become obsessed with stress.
Then, the bitter roots bear the fruits of your own bad attitude, which causes the outward stress affecting many others.
Medical science identifies stress as a 'psychosomatic' health issue.
Meaning an actual illness can be caused by your distressed, stressed-out mind. Things like arthritis, tension, phobias, digestive troubles and more.
This is all true, but also, your withering spirit, your improper heart, the lack of love for others and the Lord is damaging to your spiritual life.
There are all kinds of little buds of bitterness, roots of jealousy, sprouts of resentment, which lead to hurt feelings all around.
These sins all dig deeper and they all begin to feed on you from the inside out!
Pretty soon they crop out in very obvious, physical manifestations.
In dark bitterness, your state of mind can actually poison your heart and body.
Scientists know this by proven studies.
Physically, seething anger will affect your blood pressure, glands, ulcers, and
even remove hairs on your head.
Bitterness isn’t something that starts and stops. It becomes a lifestyle.
It consumes every part of your existence, finally eating you alive like cancer.
Bitterness, resentment, and anger can also destroy you physically!
Stressful affairs of the heart can affect you physically!
Thank God, the elimination of fear by faith can give us peace of mind.
Truth be told, spiritually, we cannot be bitter toward anyone and reflect a true love and nature of God.
We can not experience bitterness and happiness at the same time.
You see, to willfully allow the roots of bitterness to grow in your Christian life is to willingly and knowingly, letting Satan trap you!
What dark clouds could hover over your head?
Before your seething reaches storm magnitude, those dark clouds can be carried off by the winds of God when you draw closer to Him.
He will pour love into your heart so you can do the impossible and forgive.
However, if you continue to walk down the darkened paths of discontentment,
resentment, and feelings of revenge,
Your heart will wither to the point that the enemy can envelop you, negatively impacting everyone near you.
Usually, they are the ones closest to you, family, the ones you love the most.
Let’s be honest, we all know that bitterness has destroyed many families, many friendships, and even ripped congregations apart.
Which fork in the road do you most often choose?
Like many things in life, it's your choice to choose your personal path towards the way of light or away from light into darkness.
Which is why you've got to nip it in the bud all of these ill-founded feelings of
ill will toward other persons or other situations you find yourself in.
Tear bitterness out at the very beginning before it roots too deeply.
Once you can mentally grasp your resentments, use repentance to rip out all the dark senseless bitterness, then use impassioned prayer to assure it is kept at bay, never to return!
First John 4: 20 tells us,
“If a man says, I love God, and hate his brother, he is a liar: for he that loves not
his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen?”
Bitterness and hate are conjoined twins. Seldom is one found without the other.
Therefore, it is hard to love God and at the same time be bitter toward others.
Bitterness will even cause you to doubt your own salvation!
We stain the lives of others by our own bitterness.
Like a contagious disease it spreads.
As Hebrews says,
“Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord.”
Without a doubt, bitterness will affect your life in negative ways.
This may be best illustrated by the following true story told by Leonardo da
Vinci, a great inventor and famous artist born in the mid-1400s.
Da Vinci had a raging run-in with a fellow painter just prior to completing the
last two faces of his renowned 'Last Supper'.
This is a familiar painting now held in high esteem by many of the world's religions. Leonardo was so maddened and bitter that he decided to paint Judas as the face of the other artist. This would have been, in da Vinci's eye's, sweet revenge by branding the man with dishonor and scorn to all future generations. The face of Judas was soon finished and everyone could easily recognize it as the face of the man with whom da Vinci had quarreled.
But when he next came to paint the face of Jesus, Leonardo could not make any progress whatsoever. Even though the other 12 faces found their way to his canvas with ease, something baffled him, held him back, frustrating his best efforts to depict the face of Jesus. He came to the conclusion that what was frustrating him was the fact that he had painted his enemy as Judas.
He, therefore, repainted the face of Judas and commenced anew on the face of Jesus. This time with the success which the ages have acclaimed. How clearly this incident shows us that we cannot paint Christ into our own lives, while painting others with strokes of ill will, hatred or revenge.
To become more Christ-like, to accomplish what the Lord wants you to do, certainly all bitterness and hatred must be ‘put away' and ‘laid aside.'
Remember, your sin is not against the person, place, or thing you resent.
The wicked sins of unrestrained anger, deep seeded resentment, and bitterness are against God.
The best possible solution to the problem of bitterness is to never allow it to happen in the first place.
Deal with anger when it comes up.
If it’s already there, cry out to the Lord. Repent and pray.
Ephesians 4:31,
Get rid of all bitterness, rage, and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice.
Let's end with Ephesians 4:32,
“And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you. Do what you know in your heart is right;
Forgive others as He has forgiven you.
NOTE:
I don’t pretend that dealing with deep seeded bitterness and resentment is easy and that it is something that can be dealt with overnight. Don’t be afraid of reaching out to others for help.
Prayer
"Heavenly Father, as we close this time together, we come before You asking for Your grace to transform our hearts. Your Word calls us to put away all bitterness, rage, anger, brawling, slander, and malice. Lord, we lay these heavy burdens down at Your feet. Where there is hurt or resentment, please bring Your healing. Fill us instead with Your Holy Spirit. Help us to be kind, tender-hearted, and compassionate. Give us the strength to forgive others freely, just as You have graciously forgiven us in Christ. Let Your peace guard our hearts and our words, so that everything we do honors You. In Jesus' name, Amen."
