David Diga Hernandez - The Root of Bitterness

Bitterness is something that goes deep into the heart and affects everything about you. Now, the thing about bitterness is that people who are bitter often don’t recognize that they are actually bitter. Be it a particular interaction that caused them to feel pain, or a rejection that they experienced from someone they loved, bitterness can find its way into the heart through many different things. Again, I want to emphasize this: people who are bitter do not know that they are bitter. I’m not saying that to scare you; I’m not claiming that everybody is bitter and they just don’t know it. I’m simply stating that I believe somewhere deep inside the people who are holding unforgiveness, they know they are holding unforgiveness. However, the deception of the flesh keeps them from acknowledging this truth and from working to eliminate this deeply rooted darkness.

As I mentioned, this can occur in our everyday interactions. Maybe someone in the church hurt you and you no longer attend church. Perhaps a family member made a comment that you interpreted in a certain way, leading you to disconnect from your family. Or maybe you had a friendship that was thriving, one that God was using to influence your spiritual life, but they didn’t support you in the way you expected, or they failed to come through for you as you thought they should have. Regardless of how bitterness took root, it will corrupt you; bitterness will destroy you. So, I want to take a look at the scripture right now and share some simple truths regarding bitterness.

Number one: bitterness is a root. Hebrews 12:15 says, «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.» Again, that’s Hebrews 12:15. Bitterness is referred to as a root because once it gets in, it begins to produce all kinds of sinful fruits. Bitterness produces anger; bitterness produces rage; bitterness produces mindsets that isolate us. And I’ll tell you this: once that root has taken hold, it begins to corrupt and choke the life out of everything around it.

Maybe you’ve felt your spiritual strength waning. Perhaps you feel isolated, disconnected, or in a darker place than you’ve ever been. You might feel justified in being offended by an individual or justified in having left a church. While there are situations where you should cut some people off, this is why we must search our hearts, isn’t it? This is why we need to consider each situation for what it is, being open to the possibility that there may be some root of bitterness within us. We cannot become defensive; we cannot become defensive because as soon as we adopt a defensive stance, any truth that comes to us is immediately rejected, as we don’t want to deal with the issue.

Now, the other day, if I’m being honest, I’m not much of a cook. I can’t cook anything. My wife tries to teach me; we have nights where I’m in the kitchen and she attempts to instruct me. It’s not one of my spiritual gifts, and, no, cooking is not a spiritual gift, I’m just joking. But I must be honest with you: don’t ask me how, but I burned my hand making oatmeal. I remember there was a certain part of my hand that was extremely sensitive. I didn’t realize how badly I had burned myself until someone went to shake my hand, and when they did, I felt the pain immediately. My reaction was to pull away because of that sharp pain pulsating through my hand. I didn’t realize I was burned that badly until someone tried to shake my hand.

Many of us are like this spiritually. We don’t realize how hurt we are until someone tries to get close again. We don’t recognize how wounded we are until we’re challenged to reconnect. We don’t become aware of our pain until we are prompted to heal, and then, when someone touches that area of pain, our first reaction is to pull back: «Don’t touch me; get away!» That’s why bitterness produces defensiveness. If you are defensive, lower that defense. I don’t want to be insensitive because I know there is someone watching who has every right to be angry, every right to be hurt, and every right to never want to talk to another human being again. I understand that. But may the Holy Spirit rescue you from that isolation. May the Holy Spirit bring you to the place of recognizing that you are strong enough to face what you need to face. Often, when we don’t confront something, it can never be healed. When we are defensive, we prevent our own healing. Again, I emphasize to you: this is why we must lower our defenses.

So, I’m coming to you as someone who loves you in the spirit, as someone who is ministering the Word of God to you out of that love. I want to make this clear: it’s time now to lower the defense. I know, I know, I know it’s a scary thing. I recognize it can remind you of the times you’ve been hurt, but I want to challenge you today to break out of this prison. You have been a prisoner long enough. It’s time to come out of bitterness and step into the love of the Holy Spirit. So, number one: bitterness is a root. Remember, it produces all kinds of darkness in our lives. Number two: bitterness and anger are partners.