The LORD is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.     Psalm 34:18 ESV

Today we see a lot of mean hearted people. People are angry and hurt. We live in a cruel word that will crush you if you aren’t careful. We will all experience things like betrayal. We may be wrongly accused. We may find ourselves unsupported by those we have worked for or even those we love. There are all kinds of situations we can find ourselves in today that lead to hurt, anger, and downright disappointment.

My saying, “That’s okay,” may cause you to think, “How is this okay?” Well, this answer is found in our Scripture passage for today. You see, when we are hurt by others, when we become angry and when we find ourselves disappointed in others or in our current situation, God is there for us. He is near to us when our hearts get broken. He is there to save us when our spirit is crushed.

Sadly, however, many of us think it better to take matters into our own hands. We become angry. We become bitter and we become calloused. We somehow think that if we turn that anger back on those who have hurt us, we will hurt them. We don’t even see that they don’t care. If they cared, they wouldn’t have hurt you in the first place, right?

The only thing anger and bitterness does is destroy us from within like an aggressive cancer. The root of our anger and bitterness is pride and we know God hates pride. So, how can any good come from pride leading to anger and bitterness? It can’t. We are clearly told in Romans 12:21 that we must not be conquered by evil, but we must conquer evil with good.

There was a time in my life if someone wronged me, I was determined to make that person pay. I’ve come to realize, however, that I was trying to take over God’s job. No human being can take over God’s job. No good comes from us trying. We will only bring harm and destruction to ourselves. We will find ourselves becoming more angry and more bitter with no good results.

I want you to think about a situation that has hurt you. Think about any anger or bitter you experienced or specifically that you have expressed. How did that work out for you? Did it bring resolution? Did it bring about an apology? Most importantly, did it bring about peace and joy in your life?

When I think about those things, the answer for me was always no. I have, however, found that my praying for that person and focusing on Jesus has brought about resolution, peace and joy. I have resolved myself to letting God handle it and this has brought peace and joy into my life.

I know when we are hurt, letting it go and giving it to God is not an easy thing to do. I don’t want you to think I’m saying this was a simple process for me. It was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done. My bitterness had become like a drug, and I thought I needed it. I was afraid to try to live without it.

I had to pray numerous times a day. Every time negative thoughts would creep into my mind bringing about anger and bitterness, I would stop and pray. I would pray for that person, and I would pray for God to remove the bitterness from my heart. I would pray for God to remove my anger. It took some time, but God did that for me. He will do it for you as well, all you have to do is ask. During this time, I was also studying His word and praying regularly to Him with gratitude for all the good He did for me. This also helped to bring peace into my life.

Bitterness will never be sweet. Anger will never bring peace. Your mean heart will never bring about any good. Give this to God. He will handle it. It’s His job, not yours. Trust in Him today.

Have a great day!