The monster is vicious.
It can consume our every thought and breath.
When we go to sleep it transforms our dreams into nightmares.
It transforms our proper use of words into a trash heap of profanity.
It colors our relationships with negativity.
It is a hideous best friend, yet it clings to us; enticing us to revisit the land of betrayal which it so carefully guards.
It strips away any remembrance of love and leaves our wounded heart exposed to more vicious attacks.
We are deluded if we think there is clarity within this monster. There is only rampant confusion, for there is no logic within evil.
It darkens our vision so that we can see only the evil which was intended, not the good which God can transform evil into.
So who is this monster?
BITTERNESS.
You say you don’t have it?
Okay, then I guess no one has ever hurt you right?
Or you have forgiven them…Good, I hope you have.
It has been my reality to work through bitterness, for I have been hurt a lot and I have also done my share of hurting others.
It is a difficult and complex task to do battle with the Monster of Bitterness.
I have forgiven more than one person and I have even gone to the extent where I plead for God’s mercy on them.
Yet the battle can still rage because bitterness is a root and it grows deep within the heart.
I have found the most effective weapon is to search for the goodness of God in the midst of evil.
It can take years to find that flickering light of good in the midst of evil but when I find it I have a celebration.
Because you see the devil meant for this person or event to destroy me.
I am still here.
I have not been destroyed and when I see how God can spin evil for good I start praising God.
This puts the devil into a tail spin because I truly claim Romans 8:28 as a true and living Word in my life.
28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who[a] have been called according to his purpose. (NLT)
How do you do battle with the monster?
