Fresh Start – Freedom from Bitterness
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.”
I. Causes of Bitterness
1. Actions done or not done to you.
“All my intimate friends detest me;
those I love have turned against me.”
2. Attitudes projected towards you.
Job 19:5 (NIV)
“you would exalt yourselves above me
and use my humiliation against me,”
3. Words spoken to you.
Job 12:5 (NLT)
"People who are at ease mock those in trouble.
They give a push to people who are stumbling."
Proverbs 15:4 (NLT)
“Gentle words are a tree of life;
a deceitful tongue crushes the spirit.”
Job 5:2 (NIV)
“Resentment kills a fool…”
“See to it that …..no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many.”
“Many are unable to function properly in their calling because of the wounds and hurts that offenses have caused in their lives. They are handicapped and hindered from fulfilling their full potential.”
- John Bevere
II. Find Freedom from Bitterness
1. Be open and honest about your pain.
“Therefore I will not keep silent;
I will speak out in the anguish of my spirit,
I will complain in the bitterness of my soul.”
2. Make the decision to forgive.
“After Job had prayed for his friends, the Lord restored his fortunes and gave him twice as much as he had before.”
3. Stop looking back and look into your future.
“Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead.”
“The Lord blessed the latter part of Job’s life more than the former part...”