APP: I’ve got a lemon tree in my backyard, and it frequently produces some bright yellow fruit. If I try to eat the lemons by themselves, they’re pretty sour. But if I squeeze the juice out of several lemons, put it in a pitcher, add some water and just a little sugar, I’ve got some cool lemonade. When situations in your life turn sour, do you react with bitterness, or do you turn them into “lemonade”?
Hurt and disappointment are a part of life. But how you let them affect you is important. You can become angry and hostile. Or you can embrace what lesson there is to learn and become a stronger, better person. That’s not to say you don’t have a right to be upset and hurt. Some people can be very cruel, and life isn’t always fair. But be careful you don’t let bitterness become a cancer eating away at your life from the inside. Being bitter or better has a lot to do with attitude and giving those sour situations over to God. Let Him help you overcome what has happened and move on with your life.
Do not be bitter or angry or mad. Never shout angrily or say things to hurt others. Never do anything evil.
EPHESIANS 4:31 NCV
But if you have bitter envy and self-suring in your hearts, do not boast and lie against the truth.
JAMES 3:14 NKJV
See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that no “root of bitterness” springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled.
HEBREWS 12:15 ESV
For, if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.
MATTHEW 6:14–15 NIV
Don’t say, “I will get even for this wrong.” Wait for the LORD to handle the matter.
PROVERBS 20:22 NLT
Hate stirs up trouble, but love forgives all offenses.
PROVERBS 10:12 GNT