Bitterness Is A Tool Of The Enemy
By Betty Hamalainen

Bitterness is a tool of the enemy, it is from the deceiver and if you don’t forgive there is a way for the devil to get in. God has made a way to get rid of bitterness and that is the Cross of Jesus Christ. If bitterness is allowed to stay God gives us a warning. And you wonder why God does not hear you. Listen to what the Holy Spirit has to say.

Isaiah 59:1-5 Behold the Lord’s hand is not shortened at all, that it cannot save, nor His ear dull with deafness that it cannot hear. 



[2] But your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God. And your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He will not hear. 



[3] For you hands are defiled with blood and your fingers with iniquity, your lips have spoken lies, your tongue mutters wickedness. 



[4] None sues or calls in righteousness [but for the sake of doing injury to others to take some undue advantage]; no one goes to law honestly and pleads [his case] in truth; they trust in emptiness, worthlessness and futility and speaking lies! They conceive mischief and bring forth evil. 



[5] They hatch adders eggs and weave the spider’s web; he who eats of their eggs dies, and [from an egg] which is crushed a viper breaks out [for their nature is ruinous, deadly, evil.

This is what happens when we hang on to the offenses and not to get rid of them right away. Offenses bring bitterness and bitterness when it is dwelt upon, forms serpent eggs and when the time is full it hatches the very venom of the serpent, and many have lost their lives because they would not get rid of that very ruinous attitude. And they have lost their fellowship with the Lord. They have walked into a deception and thinking they are hearing from the Spirit of the Lord God, but they are only hearing from the bitter spirit that is within them. It is a scary place to be at, not being able to discern the voices of the deceiver.



God has given us a way out and that is to take the offenses to the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ and allow the Cross to enter into that offense and then make it sweet, even as Moses when the children of Israel complained that the water was bitter, and Moses cried out to the Lord God Almighty and the Lord opened his eyes to see a tree, and told him to throw the tree into the bitter waters and it will become sweet. And Moses did just that and the waters did become sweet. This is an example for us to live by. We have the old rugged tree that Jesus Christ died upon and it is still as fresh today as it was when He died. It will defeat all bitter offenses.



God wants us to walk in freedom. But when we will not listen to Him and walk our own stubborn way He will allow us to be swallowed up by our own destruction. Many say the devil did this or the devil did that, but it is to our own downfall if we hang on to any of the bitter things that have happened in our lives.

Unforgiveness, as Jesus Christ told of the parable in Matthew 18:23-35



[1] The kingdom of heaven is like a human king who wished to settle accounts with his attendants.
[2] There was one who owed him a lot of money
[3] This attendant fell on his knees and begged for forgiveness
[4] The king forgave him all of his debt
[5] Then this attendant went to his fellow servant who owed him a little bit
[6] The attendant begged for mercy, but the one that was forgiven would not have mercy, but threw him into prison
[7] Then the other attendants saw what was happening and they told the king
[8] The first attendant was brought before the king
[9] The king called him a wicked servant, because he was forgiven all of his debt, couldn’t you have pity on the one who owed you such a little.
[10] In wrath his master turned him over to the torturers [the jailers] till he should pay all that he owed.



Now listen to what our Lord Jesus Christ has to say.
So also will My Heavenly Father deal with every one of you if you do not freely forgive your brother from your heart his offenses. 



This many forget that God means exactly what He says. He said we must forgive from the heart. Many try to water this down to where they don’t have to really forgive them from the heart. Forgiving is where you don’t hold anything against the one who has offended you in any way or have done you hurt in any way. Many have held it against the other person and said if they had not done this I would be a better person. You see when we hold any type of bitter feelings towards any one. we are the ones who will suffer. Many have committed such horrendous crimes because of keeping accounts of what people have done, and now they are suffering the tormenting spirit.



You know there are times that we try to get someone free from his or her bondage, but they are not ready to really forgive the person who has done them wrong. We try to get them free from the satanic attack, but they have not been obedient to the word of the Lord God Almighty. We must have the discerning of spirits, what kind of spirit is working in that person’s life. The person might have been turned over to the tormentors and who are we to try to get them out, when they will not repent. Many have tried to get someone healed when they were holding bitterness in their heart towards someone who had done them wrong.



Let us seek the Lord God Almighty and allow His Holy Spirit to work His Will in their lives. We must see from God’s Will, what is happening to the individual and not to try to get them out of their prison before time. So many times we have made God’s power look so weak and the devil’s power so strong, because we have not had the Wisdom of God to know just what was happening. Then we get all confused and wonder what is wrong. I know I have done just that. I tried to get someone free, and they would just sit in their prison of darkness of despair, and I would think, I know God’s Word is true, but why is not this person getting free. Then this message started to come to me, and who are we to think that we can go and rise above God and set that person free when they refuse to let go of the bitterness they have towards someone else.



Let us really ask God for His Divine Wisdom to see just what is happening. And the only way a person is going to really be set free is to be obedient to the Word that God Almighty has to say.

Serpents nest and their eggs are ruinous and if we will not depart from the wickedness of holding on to grudges, these eggs will one day hatch and when they are eaten there is death, so be forewarned about these things and be Holy even as the Lord your God is Holy. 



Hebrews 12:14-15
Strive to live in peace with everybody and pursue that consecration and holiness without which no one will ever see the Lord. Exercise foresight and be on the watch to look after one another to see that no one falls back from and fails to secure God’s grace in order that no root of resentment [rancor, bitterness, or hatred] shoots forth and causes trouble and bitter torment and the many become contaminated and defiled by it.

This is really something, even when leaders hold bitter feelings towards someone and have not dealt with it, they can cause the whole fellowship to become defiled. Yes bitterness can affect many people if not dealt with.

So the Holy Spirit of the living Christ tells us to take the offenses out of the way of the spiritual return of the people. This stumbling stones are in the way of the return of the people to a right and holy way of living. Leaders are to lead by example. God wants to bring a revival into the body of Christ and it is impossible until the repentance comes..