Look after each other so that none of you fails to receive the grace of God.
Watch out that no poisonous root of bitterness grows up to trouble you, corrupting many. Heb. 12:15 (NLT)
Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. Eph. 4:31-32 (NIV)
Resentment kills a fool. Job. 5:2 (NIV)
Heavenly Father, these Scriptures anticipate the reality of life as fallen people in a fallen world. Disappointments are inevitable, but resentment is not. Resentment can well up in our hearts as soon as we get overlooked or underappreciated. A little sleight can launch us into big spite. Grant us fresh grace, thicker skin and bigger hearts. Help us overlook the ordinary stuff.
Being slighted is one thing, but suffering betrayals, deceit, and lies is a different matter. These aren’t things to “shake off,” but wounds and pain to bring to your throne of grace. Thankfully, Father, you’re not calling us to denial but to yourself. Grant us wisdom, strength and grace to respond in line with the truth of the gospel.
By the power of your Holy Spirit, we’ll work to keep our healthy anger from morphing into destructive revenge. None of us wants our hurts to become a band of revenge-full marauders—not just bent on getting even but upping the ante. That never bodes well.
Father help us, by your heart and hand. Keep our vulnerable hearts from becoming gardens of resentment and bushes of bitterness. Keep us from medicating our pain foolishly. As Jesus has forgiven us, help us want to forgive others. Then give us the power to do so.
Make the gospel more defining than our pain and sweeter than revenge. Write stories of redemption and restoration, with the pen of our hurts and the ink of your grace. So very Amen we pray, in Jesus’ tender and triumphant name.