“See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that no “root of bitterness” springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled” (Hebrews 12:15)

A weed starts off very small, just like any other plant. It may seem harmless in the beginning but if a weed is never properly dealt with, it has potential to destroy a whole garden.

A bitter thought starts the same. In the beginning it seems very small and harmless, but if it is not dealt with quickly, it will cause much destruction. If bitterness isn’t cut off at its roots, it only grows and grows until it consumes one’s mind.

Bitterness is defined as anger and disappointment at being treated unfairly and it is synonymous with resentment and envy.

When we are full of bitterness, we will be captive to sin. (Acts 8:23)

A few months ago I let bitterness start growing in my heart and that led quickly to a downward spiral. If I’m being honest, I often struggle with feeling like I haven’t gotten to experience many of the “typical” things in life and when I don’t take those feelings captive to Christ quickly, a root of bitterness easily begins to grow.

A bitter thought is like a snowball rolling down a hill. It starts small but it quickly gains momentum and increases in speed and size. This is a picture of the direction that my thoughts were taking me: a single bitter thought led me to a place where all I could see was all that was wrong in my life and all the things I wanted that I didn’t have.  

But God, in all His mercy, stepped in and helped me to see what was happening in my heart. One day as I listened to a podcast, I heard a woman talk about a time in her life when she sensed Satan trying to plant a thought in her mind that had the potential of ruining her life if the truth of God didn’t replace that thought.  As soon as a sinful, bitter thought enters into our mind, it is so important that we cut it off at the roots right away and bring it into the light right away through confession. Confession then leads to forsaking a bitter thought by replacing it with remembering all that God has already done in our lives.

Our thoughts can seem so harmless and insignificant. Yet I wonder if Satan often attacks us in our thoughts first because he knows how prone we are to justify our thoughts so easily. The Lord hasn’t left us on our own to fight the fiery darts of our enemy. Because of Jesus, and not our own might, we can experience victory as He transforms our thoughts as we depend on the Word of God. As we grow in our knowledge of and love for Christ, our bitter thoughts will progressively be replaced by the peace of Christ ruling in our heart.