No matter how long you have been a Christian, you will never truly understand the immense privilege the cross has given us. It is through Christ's finished work that we are given access to every promise of restoration and blessing God has given us in His Word. Jesus gives us not only spiritual restoration, but also physical and emotional restoration as well.
One of the many emotional crises that we face today is the struggle of bitterness. Because we have all been hurt and offended before, bitterness can enter our hearts and stay there if we're not careful.
God's Word is very clear about what our stance should be when it comes to bitterness rooted in unforgiveness, and it commands us to get rid of it. Ephesians 4:32 tells us,"Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you."
But that doesn't mean that God leaves us to face unforgiveness on our own. He has provided us with the greatest example - the removal of our guilt and forgiveness of our debts through Jesus Christ. Now God tells us that as we are now recipients of glorious redemption, we are now to share that blessing to others. Jesus has already provided us a way out of unforgiveness, but sadly so many people choose to ignore that way and hold on to their bitterness - whether unknowingly or intentionally.
Jesus wants to give us a new heart that is no longer ruled by the choking power of unforgiveness, but by His love and mercy. Ezekiel 36:26 says, "And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and will give you a heart of flesh."
But in order for God to give us a new heart of flesh, we must first allow Him to get rid of our heart of stone. Until we give Him access to our wounds, He cannot heal us.
Many people hold on to bitterness thinking that it can protect us better than God ever could or heal us better than God ever will, but that is deception from a world that wants you to remain hurt and an enemy that finds pleasure in seeing you defeated. God wants you healed and made whole.
Psalm 119:32 (NIV) says, "I run into the paths of your commands, for you have set my heart free." That's exactly what God wants to do for you today - to set your heart free, but He can only do so if you allow Him first to remove your bitter and broken hearts. The cross is more than enough to restore our souls, hearts and minds, and Jesus has given us a way out of the pits of our hard hearts if only we give Him access to them.
