There are sharp, cutting words. Oh yeah - when someone is bitter, there’s a sharpness in their words. You can feel the sword go through you. There’s an example in the Bible of a woman and a man, the man’s name was David. His wife’s name was Michal. Michal was Saul’s daughter. David was Saul’s son-in-law.
Both of them were deeply hurt by King Saul. So what King Saul did was this – King Saul was envious of David, so he chased him away. He put a reward on him – kill on sight; dangerous fugitive - shoot to kill; chased him through the land. If David made any friends, he’d kill the friends. He chased him right out of the country.
Then, he did something else: he took David’s wife, and gave her to another man. She’s still got a husband, she loves her husband, but he drags her away, gives her to another man. It breaks her heart - she’s forced to sleep with a man she doesn’t love. Forced to go through a marriage she should never have gone through.
So David went on that way, and she went on this way; but God had a destiny for them, that together they would rule Israel. Eventually, God brought them back together. Eventually, God made way for David to be restored and become king.
Now David has been badly treated. He’s been hurt very deeply. He’s been rejected. He’s been falsely accused. His friends have been killed. He’s been hunted down. But his heart was free of bitterness. How was his heart free of bitterness? He forgave. He reached out for the goodness of God. He said: God is good to me; I will show grace and forgive.
So when the opportunity came to kill Saul, he would not. He says: God can deal with Saul. I put my life in the Lord’s hand. Mostly when people are hurt, they want to get revenge. Someone was telling me, for the Chinese, ten years not too long to wait for revenge. So he had his ten years, but there’s no revenge in his heart. When the time comes for him to be king, he brings the ark of God, and he is full of joy. He’s celebrating, he’s rejoicing, his heart is free; and he wants to bless King Saul’s family. He’s grateful to God for blessing. There’s no bitterness in him - his spirit is free.
But his wife was very bitter. She did not reach out to God and bring grace into her situation. So the Bible says in 2 Samuel 6: She looked out the window. What’s this? She was unable to experience the blessing of God. The greatest revival in Israel’s history, and she is looking through the window, not being part of it. Bitterness will keep you out of the presence of God. Bitterness will leave you tormented.
Second thing, she looked, and she sees her husband; and she despised him in her heart. She looked down on him, because bitterness is in her heart. When David came home, he’s full of joy, full of gratitude, full of thankfulness to the Lord. He came home to bless his household; but his wife says: “Oh, you’re the king, and you carry on like this! Why you do this? You make a fool of yourself.” Bitter! “Geh geh geh” like that. You know what I’m talking about? You heard someone do that? Sometimes I’ll hear people do that. “Geh geh geh!” It’s like a sword. Stab. Stab. Stab. Words have power of life and death.
So one is sweet; one is bitter. One is enjoying God’s blessing; one is outside God’s blessing. Each had a choice as to how they would respond to difficulties. One forgave, and came into blessing. The other, it says of Michal, because she was so bitter, she remained barren all her life. She was never able to produce any fruit in her life. Bitterness will leave you unfruitful, and it will defile your relationship. Her marriage became empty. Her life became empty, and she died in bitterness, with her dreams unfulfilled, because she never dealt with bitterness in her heart.
Unfortunately, this is true of many Christians. We let the hurts of our past remain in our heart. We stay bitter against parents – father, mother, people who’ve hurt us – rather than choosing to release and forgive. The Bible says in Ephesians 4 – don’t grieve the Spirit of God; don’t let any bitterness, or anger, or wrath, or malice get into your heart; but rather, be kind, be tender-hearted, forgiving one another.