Daily Devotional
Do You Need God’s Remedy for Bitterness?

November 3, 2023

Ponder This

We need to be careful about bitterness. Bitter people are not nice to be around. Sometimes pastors get bitter. I know a pastor who served a church for many years. For some reason, the people in that church turned on him, they began to criticize him and, finally, they dismissed him. This pastor asked repeatedly, “How could they do that to me after all I did for them? How could they do that?” And he was very bitter. I thought the shame was he didn’t say, “After all I did for God.” Not for them, but for God.

If you look to people to supply your needs and to recognize your worth, you’re going to be disappointed in life. And you’re going to get bitter. One of the greatest tests of life is not how you react when you’re punished for doing wrong, but how you react when you’re persecuted for doing right. Joseph had done right. He was persecuted and tested but there was not a shred of bitterness in the life of Joseph. How? Because God was with him.

• When was the last time you were bitter? How did that cause you to act toward others? Toward God?
• Have you ever asked God to be with you when you were tempted with bitterness? How might this change things?

Practice This

Talk to a friend about how bitterness manifests itself in your life. Ask him or her to keep you accountable when you move toward bitterness.