Tag Archives: Self imposed prison

Beyond bitterness to healing

 

Are you in a place where you are stuck in your life due to bitterness? Something happened a long time ago and you’ve held a grudge for so long it has paralyzed you, isolated you, and eaten you up from the inside out? And somehow, you think locking yourself up in your self-imposed prison will hurt the “OTHER person?” Isn’t it time to step out of that prison?

Take a look around. I suspect you will find there are no shackles holding you there, no locked doors restricting your freedom. Only the framework of your thinking keeps you imprisoned and punishes you for something someone else did.

Bitterness is like drinking poison, hoping it will hurt the other person. But instead, you are the victim of your own bitterness. The negative thoughts that are repeated over and over in your mind-set the tone for every interaction you have. They seem to rob you of the ability to see the best in all situations. Harboring resentment is like creating a storm over your head when you could choose blue skies instead. Resentment is like a never-ending detour when you could be enjoying the open roads. It is like sitting in a mud puddle when you could be enjoying a vacation by the sea.

So what keeps us from giving up that which hurts us? Pride seems like a most obvious suspect. We want to be in control. We want to exert our own judgment (which isn’t in any of our job descriptions). To be honest, we say we give the throne of our life to Jesus but too often we take it back to sit on ourselves. God clearly gives us that choice, but has choosing your way over God’s way ever played out well for you? Me neither.

Giving up bitterness and resentment is about putting on forgiveness. You can forgive the other person even if they don’t ask forgiveness, even if they don’t deserve forgiveness. After all, God forgives us when we confess our sins even though we don’t deserve it. It’s called grace, the one thing we all so desperately need.

Maybe it’s God that you’re mad at in the first place. Tell Him. (He already knows but wants to hear from you.) He is a great big God and he can take your complaints. Just keep talking with Him, even if you are stuck in a place where you aren’t even sure He is listening. Keep talking. He wants to see you healed. Don’t you want to be healed too?

“Forgive and the prisoner you set free is yourself!”