You can’t stop life from happening to you, but you can choose how you respond. At the office, a coworker says something that offends you. It starts off as a little seed. If you let it go, nothing will come of it. But if you dwell on it, you’ll soon be holding a grudge. Now that little seed is taking root. It starts to grow and before long it will pollute other areas of your life. That’s why Hebrews 12:15 warns “that no poisonous root of  bitterness grows up to trouble you, corrupting many.”

The good news is you don’t have to live with bitter roots. Ask God to show you what’s causing you to be bitter. Maybe you need to forgive somebody, maybe you’re still sour over a dream that didn’t work out, or maybe you’re still beating yourself up over a mistake you made in the past. Be honest with yourself and say, “God, help me to get this root of bitterness out of me. I don’t want to live angry and bitter. I want my passion back. I want to love again. I want to laugh again. I want to dream again. God, help me to let it go and move forward.”

This is Message #743 “Beating Bitterness“ by Joel Osteen. For more inspirational messages, visit https://www.JoelOsteen.com/Messages