Thursday: What’s the Matter?

Psalm 147:3, “He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.”

My family loves plants. I even have a few houseplants who may or may not have names and who I may or may not regularly talk to. I have a peace lily named Brenda, and she is VERY dramatic; she droops and is a little moody even when she has plenty of water and sunshine. I have a monstera plant, more commonly known as a Swiss Cheese plant, named Harold, who absolutely loves the sunshine and looks like he is always stretching. I can’t imagine having no plants around to be honest, when I was a little girl, we had our own vegetable garden and flower garden, and I cannot remember a summer when we didn’t spend time with our hands in the soil. When I was around 12 years old, my siblings and I worked in a greenhouse at a farm at the end of the drive for our neighbors and family friends, Mr. and Mrs. Raymond. I can still feel the humidity in the greenhouse, and I can still feel the satisfaction of finishing up weeding an entire row of plants in that muggy greenhouse. 

Have you ever held a seed in your hand? It’s such a tiny thing, and it amazes me how it is able to grow into a plant! There are so many different kinds of seeds, and it is always exciting to watch those seeds grow, except when the seeds that are growing are from plants or weeds you do not want! You can’t just ignore those pesky weeds either, because if you do, they will overtake all of the healthy, beautiful plants you are trying to grow and turn your healthy garden into an unhealthy garden pretty quickly. Throughout our whole lives, we are going to come into possession of some really wonderful seeds, and we are also going to come into possession of some really dangerous seeds. It is important that we are able to recognize and discern the seeds that we hold, so we know which ones we are to plant and which ones we must give to Christ and ask Him to change them into something that produces good fruit. 

We are going to take a look at a seed that everyone has held, is holding, or will hold one day. At first glance this seed doesn’t look very dangerous, but rather you come into possession of this seed through experiencing pain and because of that, this seed is almost like a friend, a familiar face, a medal awarded to you for surviving that hurt, and because at first glance, we don’t recognize the danger we are in with just holding that seed, possessing that seed, we slip it into our heart’s pocket, go about our daily lives, and don’t really think about it as it grows, germinates, and bears fruit. While we may be able to lie to ourselves about the seed being “safe," we are not able to deceive God. Galatians 6:7 reminds us, “Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap.” 

Have you guessed the name of this seed yet?

The seed’s name is Bitterness. 

When you hear the word “bitterness,” what did you think of? Or should I say, who did you think of? Everyone has encountered a bitter person before. Bitterness presents itself in many different forms: negativity, envy, depression, sarcasm, cynicism, defeatist attitudes, fault-finding, grudge-holding, and so on. Bitterness is the result of our response to hurt, whether a real or perceived hurt; it doesn’t matter, a seed is produced and often planted before we even identify that seed for the toxic waste it is. Throughout the Bible, we see many instances of bitterness and how it impacts a person’s quality of life, from Esau to Joseph to Naomi to Job to Saul, and these are just a few people who experienced hurt and the bitterness that resulted from the hurt. Some of them sought the help of the Only One who could deliver them from that bitterness; others allowed that bitterness to grow. 

How do you know what’s growing in your heart? Start paying attention and listening to what your mouth is saying. Bitterness is sneaky, you don’t see it right away because it’s an internal sickness, not an external sickness, and it metastasizes because our focus is on the wrong thing, often our focus is on the external and not the internal. Luke 6:45 admonishes, “The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.” 

Why should we be on guard when we hold the seeds of bitterness in our hands? Look at Ephesians 4:31. Bitterness produces wrath, wrath leads to anger, anger to clamoring, clamoring to slander, and slander to malice. Bitterness only produces spoiled, rotten, disgusting fruit. Fruit that is inedible. Fruit that is toxic. Eating of this fruit makes you sick spiritually, mentally, emotionally, and even physically. How do you dispose of seeds of bitterness? You can’t flush them down the drain or throw them away; you must give them to God and ask Him to change those seeds that produce rotten fruit into seeds that produce good fruit. 

What good fruit can God turn those bitter seeds into, you ask? He is able to turn your bitterness into sweetness, the sweetness that is found in the fruit of the Spirit, in the trust that He is in control and uses ALL things for our good and His glory. Galatians 5:22-24 states, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.”  You must allow God to do His perfect work in you, which includes surrendering ALL to Him, holding nothing back, allowing Him to inspect the darkest places of your heart, reveal areas that bitter seeds have been planted and need weeded, and then pull those weeds up, those bitter seeds up, exchange them for good seeds, and make room for good fruit to grow. Psalm 34:8 testifies, “O taste and see that the Lord is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him.”

Read: Exodus 15:22-25 & Ephesians 4:31-32.

Do: Can you think of someone in the Bible who struggled with a seed of bitterness? How does God address bitterness, and how can you help guard yourself from becoming bitter after experiencing the hurt of living in a sin-sick world? 

Pray:  Write out a prayer to your Savior and petition Him to search your heart and reveal areas that are harboring bitterness, anger, malice, and hurt – and seek His assistance in removing it from your heart and life.