CWW Week 42 - Bitterness - Day 6
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Devotional: “The Bitterness in Our Words”
Key Verse: “Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness.” – Romans 3:14 (NIV)
There’s something powerful about words. With just a few sentences, we can lift someone’s spirit or break their heart. Our words reveal the state of our inner life. According to Romans 3:14, when bitterness finds a home in the heart, it doesn’t stay hidden—it eventually spills out through our mouths.
Paul’s words in Romans 3 are part of a sobering description of humanity’s condition without God. He lists behaviours and attitudes that show how far we’ve wandered from God’s ideal. One of the signs? “Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness.” It’s not just that people feel bitter—it’s that it overflows into speech, relationships, and the way we treat others.
Bitterness Has a Voice
Bitterness often finds its voice in criticism, sarcasm, or harsh words. We may not realise it at first. It might sound like venting, or like we’re just being honest. But underneath, there’s unresolved pain—wounds that haven’t healed. When we don’t deal with that pain properly, we start speaking from it instead of from grace.
And once bitterness has a voice, it grows. The more we speak it, the more it shapes how we see the world. We start expecting people to disappoint us. We assume bad intentions. We replay conversations in our heads, picking apart what they said and how they said it. Even in moments of silence, bitterness talks—through our thoughts, our expressions, and our distance from others.
Bitterness can feel justified. After all, if someone wronged us, isn’t it only fair that we feel upset? Yes, being hurt is part of life. And it’s okay to grieve, to feel anger, to acknowledge when we’ve been mistreated. But the danger comes when we let those emotions take root and begin to define us. Bitterness doesn’t just poison relationships—it poisons us from the inside out.
A Deeper Problem
Romans 3 doesn’t single out bitterness as an isolated issue—it’s part of a bigger picture of brokenness. Paul is making the case that all of us, in one way or another, fall short of God’s standard. Bitterness is one expression of a heart that’s been wounded by sin—our own, and others’.
But the good news is that Romans doesn’t stop at chapter 3. After describing the depth of our need, Paul goes on to describe the depth of God’s mercy. In Christ, we’re offered forgiveness, freedom, and transformation. We don’t have to stay stuck in bitterness.
We can learn to speak a new language—not of cursing and bitterness, but of blessing and grace. And it begins by letting God heal the pain that caused the bitterness in the first place.
How Healing Begins
Healing begins when we stop justifying our bitterness and start surrendering it. That’s not easy. Some wounds go deep. Sometimes bitterness has become part of our identity—we don’t know who we’d be without it. But God invites us to lay it down, not because it wasn’t real, but because it’s destroying us.
He invites us to bring our brokenness to Him—not to pretend we’re okay, but to confess that we’re not and that we need His help. He promises to give us a new heart (Ezekiel 36:26) and to renew our minds (Romans 12:2). That includes our speech. As He works in us, the words we speak begin to change.
Instead of tearing down, we build up. Instead of holding grudges, we offer grace. Instead of cursing, we bless. And the bitterness that once overflowed from our mouths is replaced by peace, kindness, and wisdom.
It doesn’t happen overnight. It’s a daily choice to surrender our words, our wounds, and our hearts to the One who heals. But with every step, we move closer to the freedom He wants for us.
Reflection Questions:
- Have your words recently reflected bitterness more than grace? What might that be revealing about your heart?
- Is there a painful experience you’ve never fully surrendered to God, which might be fuelling the way you speak or think?
- What would it look like for you to speak healing words this week—to bless someone, even someone who’s hurt you?
Prayer:
Dear Lord, Papa God,
Sometimes I don’t realise how bitter I’ve become. It creeps in slowly, wrapping itself around my words, my thoughts, and my heart. I don’t want to live this way. I don’t want my mouth to be full of cursing and bitterness—I want it to be full of grace and truth.
Please show me where bitterness has taken root in my life. Help me not to hide it or excuse it, but to bring it to You. I trust that You can heal what’s been broken, even the deep hurts I’ve carried for a long time.
Change the way I speak, Lord. Let my words bring life and not destruction. Give me the courage to forgive, the strength to bless, and the heart to love—especially when it’s hard.
Thank You for never giving up on me.
In Jesus’ name,
Amen.
Have a great day today with Jesus.
Graham Hood.
