PRAYER PROMPT ••• One of my favorite stories is “The Phantom of the Opera.”
Spoiler Alert: I think Christine should have chosen The Phantom, rather than Raoul.
But that’s my sentimental heart, wishing our heroine had picked the one who needed to be rescued from a lifetime of hurt.
The Phantom is a perfect illustration of a bitter heart and how it can destroy us.
He is a man of great talent (Madame Giry: “He’s a genius. He’s an architect and designer, he’s a composer and magician… a genius, monsieur!”)
However, because of his past and a life spent in darkness, he is full of bitterness.
His greatness is overshadowed by his hardened heart and in the words of Christine, “It’s in your soul that the true distortion lies.”
How many of us live that way?
Chained to memories that hold us captive and prevent us from living to our true potential?
How many hearts are full of anger and bitterness to God for allowing pain?
Bitterness is an ugly emotion that infects everything if we let it.
Like a dangerous mold, the spores of bitterness will cling to hope choking it into despair.
It will cling to relationships and destroy them.
It will keep us from forgiveness and poison us from the inside out (it won’t hurt the one who hurt us).
Hebrews 12:15 says, “See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that no ‘root of bitterness’ springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled.”
Bitterness isn’t easy to let go.
But when we stop questioning why God allows things to happen and accept that His sovereign will has a bigger plan than we can see or understand, the destruction of bitterness begins.
Because yes – God loves us, even when He’s allowed bad situations in our lives.
The ultimate secret to breaking the chains of bitterness is gratitude.
A heart focused not on what God HASN’T given, but all that He HAS.
Gratitude shines a light of hope in the darkness and bitterness cannot exist in the Light of Christ.
Today, as you pray, ask Jesus to help you overcome the chains of bitterness.
Ask Him to help you remember, no matter your circumstances, He loved you enough to die for you.
And no matter what challenges you face in this lifetime, perfection waits for you in heaven.
