Daily Bible Reading - Saturday May 23rd

There’s a lot of fighting going on in Samuel, David’s troops and Saul’s still going at it even though Saul has been dead awhile now.  As I read on I realize a lot of the fighting is happening because of the bitterness between Saul and David.  Saul and David had an off again on again friendship/relationship.  I think it was because of Saul being possessed by the evil spirits at times.  That’s why at the beginning David would play his harp for Saul and it would sooth the evil spirits and calm Saul down.  Many times Saul wanted to kill David and many times Saul would protect him, I guess it all just depended on what the evil spirits that were in Saul were doing.  It just goes to show you what bitterness can do to a person.  It really can eat a person up in such a short time as we read today what bitterness was doing to them.  It’s a shame how we let bitterness sneak in today and let it get in between our friendships and family relationships.  Sometimes we don’t even see it happening until its to late, until its already sent a friendship to the ruins.  When I look back on the past 20 years I can see how I’ve let bitterness at times rule my life, maybe it was because I was wrestling with my weight or something I dunno but I do know that God doesn’t want us to be bitter about anything, we miss out on to many blessings when we are bitter.  I’ve missed out on enough already, I’m sure not gonna let bitterness make miss any more.  Like the devotional this morning says, I would rather embrace His LOVE and FORGIVNESS rather then the bitterness the world has to offer.

Today’s Reading

2 Samuel 2:12-3:39
John 13:1-30
Psalm 119:1-16
Proverbs 15:29-30

Daily Devotional

Mark 11:25
And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him and let it drop (leave it, let it go), in order that your Father Who is in heaven may also forgive you…

So often, people hold on to bitterness or resentment, thinking that they are stockpiling ammunition against the person who hurt or offended them as if one day, they'll have the chance to get even. However, the truth is, if you don't choose to forgive, the only person being punished is you.

Unforgiveness is like a barrier that actually blocks the door to your heart. In order to move forward, you must remove the barrier, open the door of your heart, and extend forgiveness to others. When the door of your heart is open, you can then release all the hurt and pain and make room for God's healing.

I heard a story about a woman in her mid–thirties who had been mistreated, abused, abandoned, and neglected throughout her life. She was a believer, yet she was still consumed with feelings of betrayal, anger, and hurt. At times, she sat up nights imagining confrontations with the people who had hurt her. In her mind, she rehearsed over and over all of the offenses and wrongs that had been committed against her. She wanted so badly to get even.

One night while praying, she realized that all those negative feelings were blocking her from moving forward. She knew she had to let go of the past offenses. She wasn't sure how to do it, but she began imagining a large assortment of helium–filled balloons in her hand. Each balloon represented an offense, a concern, or a hurt in her life. She then pictured herself releasing those balloons one at a time and watching them float away. As she did this, she could almost feel each of those offenses, cares, and concerns that had been consuming her thoughts begin to lift off of her. Each time she practiced this exercise, she released her cares and concerns to God and received a fresh portion of His strength to face each day. Eventually, she found her place of peace as she released those balloons and learned to forgive.

Why don't you release your balloons today? Let go of all offenses and give them to God. You can accomplish so much more when you allow forgiveness to fill your heart.

Today's thought: I choose today to release all the balloons of bitterness in my life and let God to fill my heart and soul with His loving forgivness.