Bitter or Better

When I look back on certain seasons of my life, things simply didn’t go very well. I’ve had seasons of hardship and seasons of blessings. I’ve had seasons of deep pain and seasons of incredible joy. The distance between these seasons is often short. The seasons themselves have also been short when put into the span of my life. I tend to see my life as a conglomeration of seasons. I clearly remember a good friend and brother in Christ in one season of my life, giving me clarity and perspective. He reminded me that this painful season of life could make me bitter or better – the only difference was the “I” or the “e”.  I had a decision to make, and it was really a pivotal decision – I wanted to become better.

Over the years, I’ve noticed people who were bitter and hurt when things happen to them, that they really couldn’t control.  The losses in our lives can make us better – if we choose better over bitter. Even when I chose better, the bitter didn’t instantly go away. Choosing better is sometimes much harder work, but it is so worth it later. Better is the long game for sure.

The people of Israel are in Egypt because of Joseph’s faithfulness to God. They survived a severe family and Joseph had much favor with the king of Egypt. After that generation passed on, the new administration didn’t know the people and didn’t treat them with favor. The Egyptians felt threatened by them, so they made them their slaves. This was a hard season for the people of Israel. Check this out….

¹² But the more the Egyptians oppressed them, the more the Israelites multiplied and spread, and the more alarmed the Egyptians became. ¹³ So the Egyptians worked the people of Israel without mercy. ¹⁴ They made their lives bitter, forcing them to mix mortar and make bricks and do all the work in the fields. They were ruthless in all their demands. (Exodus 1:12-14 NLT)

I’ve heard it said that “bitterness is a pill that I take hoping to harm the person who hurt me”. It ends up poisoning me. I think bitterness is also an “inside job”. It is sometimes hidden deep inside but leaks out through my actions. Bitterness must be dealt with and extinguished or it will keep coming back like kudzu.

I must choose the hard work of better.

I must put bitterness in its place.

When I choose better over bitter, Christ shines through me and into me. He does some amazing work in me when I walk through valleys of struggle and pain. He uses those valleys to ALWAYS build me when I choose better. If I choose bitter, I’m often stuck in the valley.

Christ in me is my hope. His promises are real. I know what it’s like to be hurt to the core of my being. I also know what it’s like to let it go and trust Him to make something beautiful from my pain. I am old enough to have quite a history with Him making beautiful things out of my broken mess.  I’m so thankful for His love, mercy, and patience with me.

Pressing On!

Dwayne