Bitterness is a signal from God. Bitterness takes root in our lives because of our refusal to forgive those who offended us.
If you can resolve any root of bitterness in your life, you will also clear up a whole host of problems that are affecting your finances, your work, your relationships with authorities, friends and acquaintances, your marriage and family relationships, and most important of all—your relationship with God.
Unforgiveness must be dealt with because if we do not forgive our offenders, God will not forgive us, as Jesus told us clearly. We should have no expectation that God will forgive us unless we also forgive everyone who has offended us.
“And forgive us our sins, for we ourselves also forgive everyone who is indebted to us [who has offended us or done us wrong].”—Luke 11:4 (AMPC)
“Because if you forgive people their offenses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive people their offenses, your Father will not forgive your offenses.”—Matthew 6:15 (ISV)
Thankfully, God does not allow us to forget to forgive our offenders. He sends signals to us repeatedly to remind us that we need to forgive. In his parable of the unforgiving servant, Jesus calls these signals “torturers” or “tormentors.” These tormentors can come in the forms of mental or emotional stresses, physical health problems, or they can come in other forms that may affect our relationships, our finances, or other areas of our lives.
Notice also, that if we do not forgive the people who have offended us, then God (the king) calls us “wicked and contemptible.”
“Therefore the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wished to settle accounts with his slaves. When he began the accounting, one who owed him 10,000 talents was brought to him. But because he could not repay, his master ordered him to be sold, with his wife and his children and everything that he possessed, and payment to be made.
“So the slave fell on his knees and begged him, saying, ‘Have patience with me and I will repay you everything.’ And his master’s heart was moved with compassion and he released him and forgave him [canceling] the debt.
“But that same slave went out and found one of his fellow slaves who owed him a hundred denarii; and he seized him and began choking him, saying, ‘Pay what you owe!’
“So his fellow slave fell on his knees and begged him earnestly, ‘Have patience with me and I will repay you.’ But he was unwilling and he went and had him thrown in prison until he paid back the debt.
“When his fellow slaves saw what had happened, they were deeply grieved and they went and reported to their master [with clarity and in detail] everything that had taken place. Then his master called him and said to him, ‘You wicked and contemptible slave, I forgave all that [great] debt of yours because you begged me. Should you not have had mercy on your fellow slave [who owed you little by comparison], as I had mercy on you?’ And in wrath **his master turned him over to the torturers **(jailers) until he paid all that he owed. My heavenly Father will also do the same to [every one of] you, if each of you does not forgive his brother from your heart.”—Matt 18:23-35 (AMP)
“Forgive [Pardon; Release], and you will be forgiven [pardoned; released].”—Luke 6:37 (EXB)
“Be kind and tender to one another. Forgive one another, just as God forgave you because of what Christ has done.”—Ephesians 4:32 (NIRV)
Foundational Teachings
When I was 15 years old, my mother took me to a Basic Seminar by a very wise man named Bill Gothard. His teachings have profoundly impacted my life.
After I decided to write this series on God’s Signals in Life, I put together a mental outline of how I felt that I should proceed with this series. I tried to think through how I should introduce the topics; what I should cover and in which order.
At about the same time that I had planned to write this series, I just “happened” to go back to the videos of those old Basic Seminar sessions from decades ago to review them again. In my mind, I hadn’t make any connection of these old seminar teachings with the series that I was writing, but I was shocked as I watched again that first seminar session that I had attended decades ago because the outline of this Basic Seminar course, along with many of its key topics, was remarkably similar to the outline that I had put together in my head for this series of articles.
Of course, it gave me a lot of encouragement because I knew that Dr. Gothard’s teachings were inspired by the true wisdom of Scripture. It seemed to be confirmation to me that I was receiving timely insight from that same Spirit of Wisdom for this series. There is only one Truth. God often expresses His truth in different ways through the styles and personalities of different mouthpieces. God did this even in Scripture by expressing the same Truth in four different gospels through the mouthpieces of Mathew, Mark, Luke, and John.
The mouthpieces are not so important. What is most important is the message of Truth. Bill Gothard is one of the most persecuted believers in America today. I believe that is because Satan is attempting to destroy the message by attacking the messenger.
Since I started writing this series, I have reached out to Dr. Gothard, and I have stayed in communication with him. He has given me permission to refer extensively to his material which I feel is some of the best of its kind anywhere.
In seeking freedom from bitterness and unforgiveness, I would urge you to take a little time to soak in the wisdom of this man. He explains these concepts better than I ever could. If you do not have time to watch the entire seminar, I would urge you to take time to watch Session 7 on Dealing with Hurts and Keys to Forgiveness. Thankfully, Dr. Gothard’s Basic Seminar is now available free of charge on its own website. Each session includes downloadable workbook pages. You can also find the Basic Seminar on YouTube.
I am praying that you will find complete freedom as you apply the principles that Dr. Gothard explains so clearly in his teaching sessions.
“He who walks [as a companion] with wise men will be wise”—Proverbs 13:20 (AMP)
