Sometimes we just have those moments in life when we want to cry out like Job. He had lost everything, from his house to his children and the clothes on his back; and his friends who came to cheer him up were condemning him, telling him that he deserved the pain and that he must have done something in order to receive that punishment from God. Sometimes, we just want to snap like Job in Job 7:11 and just let everyone know, "I will not refrain my mouth; I will speak in the anguish of my spirit; I will complain in the bitterness of my soul." Sometimes we just want to tell life, "I'm bitter, I'm angry, and I'm not gonna shut up about it!"
It is alright to be angry when things happen to us. It is alright to be upset with pain and trials come! Even Jesus said, "my God why have you forsaken me?" (Matthew 27:46, Mark 15:34) Yes we can be angry and sad, but we cannot let our emotions stop there; because when sadness or anger sits for too long it becomes bitterness. Jesus on the cross might have said "Why have you forsaken me!" but He also said, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do." (Luke 23:34) Jesus did not allow anger or sadness sit. He brought forgiveness to the table to end it all.
If we hold onto things, we allow it to run us. If you hold onto the bad things that have happened to you, you will never move forward. If you are bitter towards someone, you are showing the signs of bitterness. Ephesians 4:31-32 says, "Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you." We must put aside our bitterness and get rid of it so that we may show good attributes of Christ; because if we do not forgive others God will not forgive us. (Matthew 6:14-15)
Are we truly showing the love of Christ if we are angry and bitter all of the time? Sometimes, we get bitter at God. Whenever I do, I remind myself of whatever the situation is. Just the other night, my friend was telling me that he was angry at God. I asked why and what had happened. He had prayed to God with all of his heart to have the girl of his dreams, and the girl showed up exactly as he asked for! He thought it was God's best work. it turns out that he left God out of the relationship from day one and he was heartbroken, so he turned his bitterness towards God. As much as I wanted to preach to him and chastise him, I remember that I should not be like Job's friends. I reminded him that He prayed for this and then left God out, so he cannot get mad at God. Every decision that he made was his own, so there was no one to get mad at but himself and her.
Sometimes we need to ask ourselves, "who should I really be mad at?" and go seek out help from others. When we are bitter, we want to point the finger in every direction but us, or we want to blame ourselves and not look at other people's hands in this. Almost always, in bitterness, we get mad at the wrong person. We must step up and get rid of this cancer that destroys the host.
"Make every effort to live in peace with all men and be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord. See to it that no one misses the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many." (Hebrews 12:14-15)
-D
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