Overcoming Bitterness - Christian Daily Devotions
Overcoming Bitterness - Verse of the Day :
They departed from before Hahiroth and passed through the midst of the sea into the wilderness, went three days' journey
in the Wilderness of Etham, and camped at Marah. They moved from Marah and came to Elim. At Elim were twelve springs of water
and seventy palm trees; so they camped there.
-Numbers 33:8-9
Daily Bible Reading Plan
Morning : Luke 23
Evening : Numbers 33-34
Overcoming Bitterness
In Numbers 33, Moses retraced the 40 encampments of the Israelites in the wilderness. One of the major stepovers was Marah,
which literally means "bitter".
Exodus 15:23 says, "Now when they came to Marah, they could not drink the waters of Marah, for they were bitter. Therefore the name of it was called Marah."
Every Christian must be prepared for disappointments in life. You might be disappointed with a person, with a situation or
with what a person has done to you. Without knowing how to deal with disappointments, a believer can easily become bitter. Bitterness reproduces quickly and can be very, very dangerous to your mental and emotional well-being.
The Bible warns us, "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" (Heb. 12:15).
Bitterness comes in when one fails to appropriate the grace of God to overcome a disappointment or a hurtful experience. Hurts
inevitably come; but taking up offenses is a choice. You can choose not to be offended and bitter.
March 8 - Overcoming Bitterness - Christian Daily Devotions
What then is the key to overcoming bitterness? Exodus 15:25 says that Moses "cried out to the LORD, and the LORD showed him
a tree. When he cast it into the waters, the waters were made sweet." The key was in the tree--which is a type of the cross.
To gain victory over bitterness, we need to go to the cross. The cross speaks of three things:
(1) Self Denial. You need to realize that you have no rights of your own. You must be willing to forfeit the right to
condemn or exact vengeance on those who have disappointed you.
(2) Forgiveness. This is an act of your will. Forgiveness involves both attitude and action. If you find it difficult
to feel forgiving toward someone who has hurt you, try responding with kind actions. If appropriate, tell this person that you would like to heal your relationship. Give him a helping hand. Send him a gift. Smile at him. Many times you will discover that right actions lead to right feelings.
(3) Forgetting. We often cannot truely forgive unless we can forget. We need to ask God for the grace to forget the
bitterness of disappointments. "Holy forgetfulness is tremendous. It keeps our spirit free! When someone says something bad against you, go quickly to God for your holy forgetfulness. Then we can look at that brother and not shudder at what was said earlier.
Start practicing these steps right away so that you can triump over the waters of Marah, overcoming bitterness in your life.
March 8 - Overcoming Bitterness - Christian Daily Devotions
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