“Looking carefully lest anyone fall short of the grace of God, lest any root of bitterness springing up cause trouble, and by this many become defiled” -Hebrews 12:15
Bitterness is known in the Bible as spiritual poison by which many are defiled. It is a source of countless spiritual and physical problems in millions of lives.
Bitterness can be tricky to recognize because it isn’t a symptom or visible on the surface like anger usually is. From personal experience, I suffered from it for over 20 years and never realized it had taken hold of me. I was diagnosed by doctors with many physical problems. Yet surprisingly after I chose to get rid of the bitterness I was healed. I began to heal my heart of years of anguish.
Bitterness is an underlying problem that doesn’t always manifest on the outside, but dwells in one’s head and heart.
Bitterness is a root.
A root is like a bubbling fountain that is lying under the surface. Roots do not directly manifest or make themselves known, but are a source of fuel for other elements that are on the surface. You don’t always see the plant showing off its roots because it wouldn’t survive. A root’s job is not to be seen on the surface, but it grows underground and fuels things where we cañnot see.
Bitterness shows up in a person’s soul. It’s a hidden element that lies deep inside of us and festers. It slowly gets us upset over things another person is doing around us. It waits to fuel something that is on the surface.
Countless people have bitterness about something. The trauma gets to them and leaves them in bondage because of hurts that were done to them many years ago. That’s how Satan gets a stronghold on us and begins to thrive.
Because bitterness is a root, it’s hard to identify and expose our surface issues. We will suffer until we choose to release it. If bitterness is left alone , it can grow and fester, as the ability to bring up many surface issues, such as irritability, anger, and hatred. People who have a root of bitterness will often find it easy to become upset or little things that go on around them. It becomes easy for them to look at their circumstances as the source of their problems, rather than seeing how they are handling those circumstances. Instead of letting go and forgiving, they let it devour them alive. Bitterness is a very common route by which Satan enters people today.
Due to the nature of bottle of feelings and emotions, bitterness is not always made noticeable on the surface.
Ephesians 5:13 tells us “But everything exposed by the light becomes visible, and everything that is illuminated becomes a light.” I think this verse emphasizes the importance of bringing hidden emotions into the light for healing and understanding. Every hidden emotion can lead to emotional healing and clarity.
If there is a root of bitterness in us it needs to be cut off and removed from our soul. We need to choose to release all the hurt and bottled-up feelings inside of us, and repent for holding that poison in us.
The root cause of bitterness is unresolved emotional pain, particularly when it’s tied to injustice, betrayal, or unmet expectations that one feels powerless to change.
Bitterness is a means of defilement and many sicknesses and diseases.
