Lent 2025 – Prayers of Repentance – Repenting of Bitterness and Resentment – Purity 1606
Purity 1606 03/14/2025 Purity 1606 Audio Podcast
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Good morning,
Today’s photo of a barbed wire fence, a grain silo, and a solitary tree under a wispy blue sky comes to us from yours truly as I captured this scene while taking an enthusiastic walk at the Harrier Hill Park in Stottville NY back on June 5, 2021.
Well, it’s Friday, Thank God, and as I remember that day back in June of ’21, my heart is filled with joy because that day’s weather was spectacular and I was still in a celebratory mood from purchasing my place “down by The River” a year earlier. After going through a painful divorce and having to cohabitate with the ex from 2018-2020, the Lord had moved all things together for good to the point that I was in my new home and loving life and little did I know that in just a few months I would be and engaged and shortly after married to TammyLyn. That day at Harrier Hill, my joy was at a peak because I had suffered through one dark valley, and I was enjoying a freedom that I could only dream of a couple of years prior.
After that hard time that I had to go through some my wonder if I held any resentment or bitterness for my ex, but I don’t because even when we were still in the midst of it all, I forgave her. Granted, I had to practice forgiveness repeatedly during that time and in the years since at different times, but I can honestly say that I hold no bitterness or resent toward her, and I pray that she will be happy all the rest of her days.
Speaking of resentment and bitterness, it’s the season of Lent and as we seek to draw closer to God on our journey toward Resurrection Sunday, Easter, let me encourage us all to get rid of any resentment or bitterness by going to the Lord in prayer and forgiving those who have offended us from the heart.
Jesus told us that if we have anything against our brother as we approach the altar of worship to go and be reconciled with them before we offer our sacrifices of praise and worship. God doesn’t want us coming before Him with bitterness or resentment in our hearts and He commands us to forgive those who have trespassed against us so we can be free,
Dr. Neil Anderson’s Step to Freedom in Christ recognizes the need to forgive from the heart and so I am sharing Step 3 – Forgiveness vs. Bitterness – to each us what forgiveness is and what it isn’t and to provide you with a method of prayer that will help you to go to the Lord and resolve your past or present issues with unforgiveness, bitterness, and resentment. Dr. Neil Anderson writes:
Bitterness vs. Forgiveness
We need to forgive others so Satan cannot take advantage of us (see 2 Corinthians 2:10, 11). We are commanded to get rid of all bitterness in our lives and forgive others as we have been forgiven (see Ephesians 4:31, 32). Ask God to bring to your mind the people you need to forgive by praying the following prayer aloud:
Dear Heavenly Father,
I thank You for the riches of Your kindness, forbearance and patience toward me, knowing that Your kindness has led me to repentance. I confess that I have not shown that same kindness and patience toward those who have hurt or offended me. Instead, I have held on to my anger, bitterness and resentment toward them. Please bring to my mind all the people I need to forgive in order that I may now do so. In Jesus’ name, amen.
On a separate sheet of paper, list the names of people who come to your mind. At this point don’t question whether you need to forgive them or not. If a name comes to mind, write it down.
Often, we hold things against ourselves as well, punishing ourselves for wrong choices we’ve made in the past. Write “Myself” at the bottom of your list if you need to forgive yourself. Forgiving yourself is accepting the truth that God has already forgiven you in Christ. If God forgives you, you can forgive yourself!
Also write down “Thoughts Against God” at the bottom of your list. Obviously, God has never done anything wrong, so we don’t have to forgive Him. Sometimes, however, we harbor angry thoughts against Him because He did not do what we wanted Him to do. Those feelings of anger or resentment against God can become a wall between us and Him, so we must let them go.
Before you begin working through the process of forgiving those on your list, take a few minutes to review what forgiveness is and what it is not.
Forgiveness Is Not Merely Forgetting
People who want to forget all that was done to them will find they cannot do it. Don’t put off forgiving those who have hurt you, hoping the pain will one day go away. Once you choose to forgive someone, then Christ can come and begin to heal you of your hurts. But the healing cannot begin until you first forgive.
Forgiveness Is a Choice, a Decision of Your Will
Since God requires you to forgive, it is something you can do. Sometimes it is very hard to forgive someone because we naturally want revenge for the things we have suffered. Forgiveness seems to go against our sense of what is right and fair. So, we hold on to our anger, punishing people over and over again in our minds for the pain they’ve caused us.
But we are told by God never to take our own revenge (see Romans 12:19). Let God deal with the person. Let him or her off your hook, because as long as you refuse to forgive someone, you are still hooked to that person. You are still chained to your past, bound up in your bitterness. By forgiving, you let the other person off your hook; but he or she is not off God’s hook. You must trust that God will deal with the person justly and fairly, something you simply cannot do.
“But you don’t know how much this person hurt me!” you say. You’re right. We don’t, but Jesus does, and He tells you to forgive others for your sake. Until you let go of your anger and hatred, the person is still hurting you. You can’t turn back the clock and change the past, but you can be free from it. You can stop the pain; but there is only one way to do it—forgive from your heart.
Forgive others for your sake, so you can be free from your past.
Forgiveness Is Agreeing to Live with the Consequences of Another’s Sin
You are going to live with those consequences whether you like it or not, so the only choice you have is whether you will do so in the bondage of bitterness or in the freedom of forgiveness. No one truly forgives without accepting and suffering the pain of another person’s sin. That can seem unfair, and you may wonder, “Where is the justice?” The Cross makes forgiveness legally and morally right. Jesus died once for all our sins.
Jesus took the eternal consequences of sin upon Himself. God “made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Corinthians 5:21). We, however, often suffer the temporary consequences of other people’s sins. That is simply a harsh reality of life all of us have to face.
Do not wait for the other person to ask for your forgiveness. Remember, Jesus did not wait for those who were crucifying Him to apologize before He forgave them. Even while they mocked and jeered at Him, He prayed, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing” (Luke 23:34, NIV).
Forgiveness Comes from Your Heart
Allow God to bring the painful memories to the surface, and then acknowledge how you feel toward those who’ve hurt you. If your forgiveness doesn’t touch the emotional core of your life, it will be incomplete. Too often we’re afraid of the pain, so we bury our emotions deep down inside us. Let God bring them to the surface so He can begin to heal those damaged emotions.
Forgiveness Is Choosing Not to Hold Someone’s Sin Against Him or Her Anymore
It is common for bitter people to bring up past issues with those who have hurt them. They want the other people to feel as bad as they do! But we must let go of the past and choose to reject any thought of revenge. This doesn’t mean you continue to put up with the future sins of others. God does not tolerate sin and neither should you. Don’t allow yourself to be continually abused by others. Take a stand against sin while continuing to exercise grace and forgiveness toward those who hurt you. If you need help setting scriptural boundaries to protect yourself from further abuse, talk to a trusted friend, counselor or pastor.
Forgiveness Cannot Wait Until You Feel Like Forgiving
You will never get there. Make the hard choice to forgive even if you don’t feel like it. Once you choose to forgive, Satan will lose his power over you in that area, and God will heal your damaged emotions. Freedom is what you will gain right now, not necessarily an immediate change in feelings.
Now you are ready to begin. Starting with the first person on your list, make the choice to forgive him or her for every painful memory that comes to your mind. Continue until you are sure you have dealt with all the remembered pain caused by that individual. Then work your way down the list in the same way.
As you begin forgiving people, God may bring to your mind painful memories you’ve totally forgotten. Let Him do this even if it hurts. God wants you to be free; forgiving those people is the only way. Don’t try to excuse the offender’s behavior, even if it is someone you are really close to.
Don’t say, “Lord, please help me to forgive.” He is already helping you and will be with you all the way through the process. Don’t say, “Lord, I want to forgive …” because that bypasses the hard choice we have to make. Say, “Lord, I choose to forgive …”
For every painful memory you have for each person on your list, pray aloud:
Lord,
I choose to forgive (name the person) for (what he/she did or failed to do), which made me feel (share the painful feelings).
After you have forgiven each person for all the offenses that came to your mind, and after you have honestly expressed how you felt, conclude this step by praying aloud:
Lord,
I choose not to hold on to my resentment. I thank You for setting me free from the bondage of my bitterness. I relinquish my right to seek revenge and ask You to heal my damaged emotions. I now ask You to bless those who have hurt me. In Jesus’ name, amen.[1]
You can download these prayers as a free PDF download here: Bitterness vs. Forgiveness.
Amen. After going through this process of prayerful forgiveness, you should feel a tremendous weight come off your soul as you release the hurt and the bitterness that you have been holding on to. Practicing forgiveness is a key to resolving the issues of the past and a means to maintain peace and joy in the future. I pray that these prayers bless you in your Lenten journey to “repent and believe in the gospel”.
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For those who want more evidence for Christianity than my simple encouragements provide, I offer apologist, Frank Turek’s website, https://crossexamined.org/.
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Today’s Bible verse comes to us from “The Quick Scripture Reference for Counseling” By John G. Kruis.
(While Bible verses on various topics of Counseling can be found with a quick Google search, we encourage you to purchase this resource to support the late author’s work. (The Quick Scripture Reference for Counseling By John G. Kruis on Amazon )
This morning’s meditation verse comes from the section on Loving and Serving Others.
Galatians 6:10 (NIV) As we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.
Today’s verse falls under the fourteenth point of our counseling reference guide resource’s section on Loving and Serving Others.
14. Do good to all, especially to members of God’s family.
Today’s Bible verse encourages us to do good to all people, especially Christians, as this is our purpose as disciples of Jesus Christ as detailed in:
Ephesians 2:10 (NKJV) 10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.
God saved us for “good works” and our new life in Christ is properly used to pursue the good works that God prepared for us to do and if we can bless others in the body of Christ in our mission of good works we can not only fulfill our purpose, we can be the instrument of God’s promises of provision, blessings, and care.
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As always, I invite all to go to mt4christ.com where I always share insights from prominent Christian theologians and counselors to assist my brothers and sisters in Christ with their walk.
Today we continue sharing from “Day by Day Along the Way” By Jay E. Adams.
As always, I share this information for educational purposes and encourage you all to purchase Adams’ books for your own private study and to support the late author’s work. This resource is available online for less than $20 at many sites.
God’s Word, which is at work within you who believe … – 1 Thessalonians 2:13
Day 105
When God speaks, things happen! His speech is never mere “words.” He said, “let there be light,” and light appeared. God’s Word isn’t like a “human word” (v. 13). It is a Word that works! It gets things done. As this was true of His spoken Word at creation, so too is it true of His written Word. In Hebrews 4:12, we are told that it is “active.” The Word “judges desires and thoughts of the heart.” It gets down inside of a person and affects him at the deepest level of his being. Here, Paul is speaking about how it accomplishes God’s work of transformation, which is the factor that gradually makes us more and more like Christ. But if you don’t know the Word because you have neglected the study of it, you cannot expect to grow spiritually. You must internalize it regularly so that as you live day by day, meeting life’s circumstances, the Word is always at hand to help you face life’s problems. And don’t forget, it is only by this internalized Word that the Spirit, Who dwells within, transforms you into the likeness of the Lord. Study it, believe it, live it, and grow![2]
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[1] Neil T. Anderson, The Steps to Freedom in Christ, ed. Pam Weston and Patti Pennington Virtue, Revised (Gospel Light, 2001), 19–22.
[2] Jay E. Adams, Day by Day along the Way (Cordova, TN: Institute for Nouthetic Studies, 2020), 113.
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