What is it about human beings that allow us to grow comfortable living with bitterness and resentment? We can carry it for years, sometimes decades, without making any effort to resolve it or even admitting it exists. Bitterness blinds us. It numbs us. It hides itself so deeply that we don’t see the damage it’s doing to us or to the people around us. Most bitterness begins with betrayal—and betrayal is real. Surviving in Egypt will inevitably expose us to it. Sometimes deeply. Sometimes repeatedly. We can’t avoid betrayal. But living as a prisoner to the bitterness that betrayal produces—that part is on us. We pretend we’re tough. We insist we’re fine. We say we’re “over it.” But we’re not. We are hurt. We’re limping. We’re spiritually hindered. And bitterness quietly robs us of the supernatural satisfaction of God’s presence in our lives. How has the cancer of resentment affected our relationships? Our families? Our work? Our kingdom impact? The truth is, we can’t even begin to calculate the damage until after bitterness is dealt with. Those calculations are impossible from inside the prison. Over the next few weeks, we’re going to walk through the healing process of bitterness. This week is just the introduction—a doorway into a three part journey through Joseph’s reunion with his brothers. Joseph had to confront bitterness, betrayal, and unforgiveness head on. And in his story, we learn how God frees His people from the prisons they’ve lived in far too long.
