Bakersfield First Assembly

3:5-6

Proverbs 3:5-6 (NKJV) – [5] Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; [6] in all your ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct your paths.

In All Your Ways Acknowledge Him

Ways (derek) means path, road, highway, distance, journey; manner, conduct, condition, destiny. (Vine’s Expository Dictionary)

“The word may refer to a physical path or road or to a journey along a road. However, this word is most often used metaphorically to refer to the pathways of one’s life, suggesting the pattern of life.” (Complete Word Study Dictionary)

Deuteronomy 8:6-7 (NIV) – [6] Observe the commands of the LORD your God, walking in his WAYS and revering him. [7] For the LORD your God is bringing you into a good land…

1. To find our way in life, we must walk in God’s ways.

Proverbs 14:12 (NIV) – [12] There is a WAY that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death.

2. Our ways are not God’s ways.

Isaiah 55:8 (NIV) – [8] “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your WAYS my WAYS,” declares the Lord.

Isaiah 30:20-21 (NIV) – [20] Although the Lord gives you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, your teachers will be hidden no more; with your own eyes you will see them. [21] Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, “This is the WAY; walk in it.”

3. The LORD’s discipline helps us walk in His ways.

“God keeps His promises when we obey His precepts, because our obedience prepares us to receive and enjoy what He has planned for us… ‘He shall direct your paths’ is the promise, but the fulfillment of that promise is predicated on our obedience to the Lord. We must trust Him with all our heart and obey Him in all our ways.” (Wiersbe Bible Commentary)

4. Obedience to God keeps us on the right path.

Acknowledge (yada’) means to know, to learn, to perceive, to discern, to experience, to confess, to consider, to know people relationally, to know how, to be skillful, to be made known, to make oneself known, to make to know. (Complete Word Study Dictionary)

“The simple meaning, to know, is its most common translation out of the eight hundred or more uses. One of the primary uses means to know relationally and experientially.” (Complete Word Study Dictionary)

5. It is not enough to know about God; we must know God personally.

“Essentially, yada’ means to know by observing and reflecting (thinking), and to know by experiencing.” (Vine's Expository Dictionary)

6. In all our ways of life, there is an opportunity to know God.

Jeremiah 24:5-7 (NIV) – [5] “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘Like these good figs, I regard as good the exiles from Judah, whom I sent away from this place to the land of the Babylonians. [6] My eyes will watch over them for their good, and I will bring them back to this land. I will build them up and not tear them down; I will plant them and not uproot them. [7] I will give them a heart to KNOW me, that I am the Lord. They will be my people, and I will be their God, for they will return to me with all their heart.’”

7. God will give us a new heart to know Him.

Jeremiah 31:33-34 (NIV) – [33 “This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after that time,” declares the Lord. “I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. [34] No longer will a man teach his neighbor, or a man his brother, saying, ‘KNOW the Lord,’ because they will all KNOW me, from the least of them to the greatest,” declares the Lord. “For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.”

8. We can know Jesus in the good and the bad.

Philippians 3:10-11 (NIV) – [10] I want to KNOW Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, [11] and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead.

With Friends Like These…

1. The words of Job’s friends are accurately recorded, but their words may not be accurate to the truth.

2. Eliphaz is immediately defensive.

3. Some study theology to KNOW God; others study theology to CONTROL God.

Job 4:3-6 (NLT) – [3] “In the past you have encouraged many people; you have strengthened those who were weak. [4] Your words have supported those who were falling; you encouraged those with shaky knees. [5] But now when trouble strikes, you lose heart. You are terrified when it touches you. [6] Doesn’t your reverence for God give you confidence? Doesn’t your life of integrity give you hope?”

4. Eliphaz rebukes Job.

5. Our hope should never be in our righteousness but in God’s mercy.

Titus 3:3-7 (NIV) – [3] At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another. [4] But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, [5] he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. [6] He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, [6] whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, [7] so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life.

Titus 2:11-14 (NIV) – [11] For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. [12] It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, [13] while we wait for the blessed hope-the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, [14] who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.

Job 4:7-9 (NIV) – [7] “Consider now: Who, being innocent, has ever perished? Where were the upright ever destroyed? [8] As I have observed, those who plow evil and those who sow trouble reap it. [9] At the breath of God they are destroyed; at the blast of his anger they perish.

6. Eliphaz pontificates about God.

Galatians 6:7-8 (NIV) – [7] Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. [8] The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.

7. Current circumstances are not always an indicator of past transgressions.

Job 4:12-21 (NIV) – [12] “A word was secretly brought to me, my ears caught a whisper of it. [13] Amid disquieting dreams in the night, when deep sleep falls on men, [14] fear and trembling seized me and made all my bones shake. [15] A spirit glided past my face, and the hair on my body stood on end. [16] It stopped, but I could not tell what it was. A form stood before my eyes, and I heard a hushed voice: [17] ‘Can a mortal be more righteous than God? Can a man be more pure than his Maker? [18] If God places no trust in his servants, if he charges his angels with error, [19] how much more those who live in houses of clay, whose foundations are in the dust, who are crushed more readily than a moth! [20] Between dawn and dusk they are broken to pieces; unnoticed, they perish forever. [21] Are not the cords of their tent pulled up, so that they die without wisdom?’

8. Eliphaz speaks for Satan.

1 John 4:1-3 (NIV) – [1] Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. [2] This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, [3] but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world.

9. Not every voice we hear is from God.

10. God will never contradict His Word or His character.

3:5-6

Proverbs 3:5-6 (NKJV) – [5] Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; [6] in all your ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct your paths.

1. It is prideful to make plans without God.

Lean not on Your Own Understanding

2. We cannot support ourselves with our own understanding.

3. We are not to rely on our own understanding.

2 Chronicles 14:11 (NJKV) – [11] And Asa cried out to the Lord his God, and said, “Lord, it is nothing for You to help, whether with many or with those who have no power; help us, O Lord our God, for we REST on You, and in Your name we go against this multitude. O Lord, You are our God; do not let man prevail against You!”

“If we don’t live in peace, rest and security, it’s because we haven’t yet learned to trust in our heavenly Father. We’re uncertain of His ability to take care of us and unsure of His desire to do so.” (Deborah Kern, Learning to Trust God)

4. We won’t find rest in our own understanding.

Proverbs 28:26 (NIV) – [26] He who trusts in himself is a fool, but he who walks in wisdom is kept safe.

“God has given His Word to guide in every detail of life so our sanctification might be by the truth. It is therefore inexcusable to lean on our own poor finite intelligence.” (Ironside Commentaries)

Understanding (bee-NAW) means insight, discernment, wisdom, knowledge, and meaning.

5. Leaning on our own understanding leads to overthinking things.

“The evidence that overthinking is bad for you now is vast and overwhelming. If you are someone plagued by ruminations, you are unlikely to become happier before you can break that habit. I will go so far as to say if you are an overthinker, one of the secrets to your happiness is the ability to allay obsessive overthinking, to reinterpret and redirect your negative thoughts into more neutral or optimistic ones.” (Psychologist Sonja Lyubomirsky)

6. God alone understands everything perfectly.

Job 28:20, 23 (NIV) – [20] “Where then does wisdom come from? Where does UNDERSTANDING dwell? [23] God UNDERSTANDS the way to it and he alone knows where it dwells.”

“God has graciously endowed human beings with the ability of understanding and comprehension, but this faculty is not infallible, and, therefore, we are to ask God for guidance at all times.” (The Complete Word Study Dictionary)

7. God’s understanding is always greater than our own.

Isaiah 55:8-9 (NIV) – [8] “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the LORD. [9] “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.”

Isaiah 55:8-9 (MSG) – [8] “I don’t think the way you think. The way you work isn’t the way I work.” GOD’s Decree. [9] “For as the sky soars high above earth, so the way I work surpasses the way you work, and the way I think is beyond the way you think.

The Book of Job:

With Friends Like These…

1. The words of Job’s friends are accurately recorded, but their words may not be accurate to the truth.

Job 42:7 (NIV) – [7] “After the LORD had said these things to Job, he said to Eliphaz the Temanite, "I am angry with you and your two friends, because you have not spoken of me what is right, as my servant Job has.”

Job 4:1 (NIV) – [1] Then Eliphaz the Temanite replied:

Genesis 36:10-11 (NIV) – [10] These are the names of Esau's sons: Eliphaz, the son of Esau's wife Adah, and Reuel, the son of Esau's wife Basemath. [11] The sons of Eliphaz: Teman, Omar, Zepho, Gatam and Kenaz.

Jeremiah 49:20 (NIV) – [20] Therefore, hear what the LORD has planned against Edom, what he has purposed against those who live in Teman: The young of the flock will be dragged away; he will completely destroy their pasture because of them.

Jeremiah 49:7 (NIV) – [7] Concerning Edom: This is what the LORD Almighty says: “Is there no longer wisdom in Teman? Has counsel perished from the prudent? Has their wisdom decayed?”

Job 4:2 (NIV) – [2] “If someone ventures a word with you, will you be impatient? But who can keep from speaking?

2. Eliphaz is immediately defensive.

3. Some study theology to KNOW God; others study theology to CONTROL God.

“We are nearly always longing for an easy religion, easy to understand and easy to follow; a religion with no mystery, no insoluble problems, no snags; a religion that would allow us to escape from our miserably human condition; a religion in which contact with God spares us all strife, all uncertainty, all suffering and all doubt; in short, a religion without the Cross.” –Swiss Psychologist, Paul Tournier, Reflections

Job 4:3-6 (NLT) – [3] “In the past you have encouraged many people; you have strengthened those who were weak. [4] Your words have supported those who were falling; you encouraged those with shaky knees. [5] But now when trouble strikes, you lose heart. You are terrified when it touches you. [6] Doesn’t your reverence for God give you confidence? Doesn’t your life of integrity give you hope?”

4. Eliphaz rebukes Job.

5. Our hope should never be in our righteousness but in God’s mercy.

Titus 3:3-7 (NIV) – [3] At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another. [4] But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, [5] he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. [6] He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, [6] whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, [7] so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life.

Titus 2:11-14 (NIV) – [11] For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. [12] It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, [13] while we wait for the blessed hope-the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, [14] who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.

3-5-6

Proverbs 3:5-6 (NKJV) – [5] Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; [6] in all your ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct your paths.

1. It is prideful to make plans without God.

James 4:13-16 (NIV) – [13] Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.” [14] Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. [15] Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.” [16] As it is, you boast and brag. All such boasting is evil.

Trust with God as the goal or object means to regard him as the source of wisdom and power in all things and therefore worthy of your entire confidence. The act of trusting is sometimes expressed figuratively as “putting your heart in the hands of” or “laying your liver on someone.” (UBS Old Testament Handbook Series)

Lean not on Your Own Understanding

Lean (shaan) means to support oneself, to rely on, to rest.

2 Samuel 1:6 (BBE) – [6] And the young man said, I came by chance to Mount Gilboa, and I saw Saul SUPPORTING HIMSELF on his spear; and the war-carriages and horsemen overtook him.

2 Corinthians 10:3-4 (NLT) – [3] We are human, but we don't wage war as humans do. [4] We use God’s mighty weapons, not worldly weapons, to knock down the strongholds of human reasoning and to destroy false arguments.

2. We cannot support ourselves with our own understanding.

“The danger, of course, is that we lean on our own understanding and thereby miss God’s will. This warning doesn’t suggest that God’s children turn off their brains and ignore their intelligence and common sense. It simply cautions us not to depend on our own wisdom and experience or the wisdom and experience of others.” (Wiersbe)

Isaiah 31:1 (NIV) – [1] Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help, who RELY on horses, who trust in the multitude of their chariots and in the great strength of their horsemen, but do not look to the Holy One of Israel or seek help from the Lord.

3. We are not to rely on our own understanding.

2 Chronicles 14:11 (NJKV) – [11] And Asa cried out to the Lord his God, and said, “Lord, it is nothing for You to help, whether with many or with those who have no power; help us, O Lord our God, for we REST on You, and in Your name we go against this multitude. O Lord, You are our God; do not let man prevail against You!”

Enduring To The End

Bakersfield First Assembly

3-5-6

Proverbs 3:5-6 (NKJV) – [5] Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; [6] in all your ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct your paths.

“Trust is our gift back to God, and he finds it so enchanting that Jesus died for love of it.” (Brennan Manning, Ruthless Trust)

With All Your Heart

Heart (leb) is used (figuratively) very widely for the feelings, the will and even the intellect; likewise for the center of anything. (Strong’s Concordance)

“According to the Bible, the heart is the center not only of spiritual activity, but of all the operations of human life. ‘Heart’ and ‘soul’ are often used interchangeably.” (Easton’s Bible Dictionary)

All (kol) means each, every, all, everything, the whole, entire. It has an inclusive meaning of all or every one of something. (Complete Word Study Dictionary)

1. Seek the LORD with all your heart.

Deuteronomy 4:25-26, 29 (NIV) – [25] After you have had children and grandchildren and have lived in the land a long time—if you then become corrupt and make any kind of idol, doing evil in the eyes of the LORD your God and provoking him to anger, [26] I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you this day that you will quickly perish from the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess. You will not live there long but will certainly be destroyed… [29] But if from there you SEEK the LORD your God, you will find him if you look for him with ALL YOUR HEART and with all your soul.

Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV) – [11] For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

Jeremiah 29:13 (NIV) – [13] “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.”

2. Love the LORD with all your heart.

Deuteronomy 6:5 (NIV) – [5] “LOVE the LORD your God with ALL YOUR HEART and with all your soul and with all your strength.”

Mark 12:30 (NIV) – [30] “LOVE the Lord your God with ALL YOUR HEART and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.”

3. Serve the LORD with all your heart.

1 Samuel 8:6-7 (NIV) – [6] But when they said, “Give us a king to lead us,” this displeased Samuel; so he prayed to the LORD. [7] And the LORD told him: “Listen to all that the people are saying to you; it is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected me as their king.”

1 Samuel 12:24 (NIV) – [24] But be sure to fear the LORD and SERVE him faithfully with ALL YOUR HEART; consider what great things he has done for you.

4. Obey the LORD with all your heart.

Deuteronomy 30:6-10 (NIV) – [6] The LORD your God will circumcise your hearts and the hearts of your descendants, so that you may love him with ALL YOUR HEART and with all your soul, and live. [7] The LORD your God will put all these curses on your enemies who hate and persecute you. [8] You will again OBEY the LORD and follow all his commands I am giving you today. [9] Then the LORD your God will make you most prosperous in all the work of your hands and in the fruit of your womb, the young of your livestock and the crops of your land. The LORD will again delight in you and make you prosperous, just as he delighted in your fathers, [10] if you OBEY the LORD your God and keep his commands and decrees that are written in this Book of the Law and turn to the LORD your God with ALL YOUR HEART and with all your soul.

“One way we glorify God is by our obedience to him, our refusing to believe we know best and instead trusting that his way is the way of life.” (Dane Ortlund, Gentle and Lowly)

5. Return to the LORD with all your heart.

Joel 2:12-13 (NIV) – [12] “Even now,” declares the LORD, “RETURN to me with ALL YOUR HEART, with fasting and weeping and mourning.” [13] Rend your heart and not your garments. RETURN to the LORD your God, for he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love, and he relents from sending calamity.

6. Rejoice in the LORD with all your heart.

Zephaniah 3:14-15 (NIV) – [14] Sing, O Daughter of Zion; shout aloud, O Israel! Be glad and REJOICE with ALL YOUR HEART, O Daughter of Jerusalem! [15] The LORD has taken away your punishment, he has turned back your enemy. The LORD, the King of Israel, is with you; never again will you fear any harm.

7. Work unto the LORD with all your heart.

Colossians 3:23-24 (NIV) – [23] Whatever you do, WORK at it with ALL YOUR HEART, as working for the Lord, not for men, [24] since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.

Proverbs 3:5-6 (NKJV) – [5] Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; [6] in all your ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct your paths.

Trust (batach) means to hie (to go quickly or in haste) for refuge; to be confident or sure; to be bold or secure; to confide in. (Multiple Sources)

Jeremiah 17:5-6 (NIV) – [5] This is what the Lord says: “Cursed is the one who trusts in man, who depends on flesh for his strength and whose heart turns away from the Lord. [6] He will be like a bush in the wastelands; he will not see prosperity when it comes. He will dwell in the parched places of the desert, in a salt land where no one lives.

1. Do not trust in man.

“…God indicated that a person who trusts in man for protection is cursed because his heart has turned away from God. Instead of prospering, he will wither away like a desert bush. God would make him as unfruitful as the barren salt land around the Dead Sea, unable to support life.” (Bible Knowledge Commentary)

Proverbs 11:28 (NIV) – [28] Whoever trusts in his riches will fall, but the righteous will thrive like a green leaf.

2. Do not trust in riches.

“Riches are uncertain and therefore not worthy of trust. Our confidence should be in the living God who gives us richly all things to enjoy. The righteous, that is, those whose trust is in the Lord, will flourish with life and vitality like foliage.” (Believer’s Bible Commentary)

“To have money is not wrong, but to trust in it is, (cf. 1 Timothy 6:9-10), because it and its owners are transitory. But the righteous, trusting in the Lord, flourish like a green leaf.” (Bible Knowledge Commentary)

1 Timothy 6:9-10 (NIV) – [9] People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. [10] For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.

Psalms 146:3-4 (NIV) – [3] Do not put your trust in princes, in mortal men, who cannot save. [4] When their spirit departs, they return to the ground; on that very day their plans come to nothing.

3. Do not trust in politicians.

“[The Lord] then warned against placing trust in human officials. They will die and their plans will perish with them. At death the spirit separates from the body, which returns to dust. Therefore, it is foolish to put too much hope in what people can do.” (Constable’s Notes)

“The psalmist portrays powerful people as inadequate saviors, making false promises they cannot deliver… God, not the government, is the hope of the needy…” (Life Application Bible)

Proverbs 28:26 (NIV) – [26] He who trusts in himself is a fool, but he who walks in wisdom is kept safe.

4. Do not trust in yourself.

“For many people, the rugged individualist is a hero. We admire the bold, self-directed men and women who know what they want and fight for it. They are self-reliant, neither giving nor asking advice. What a contrast to God’s way. A person can’t know the future or predict the consequences of his or her choices with certainty. And so the totally self-reliant person is doomed to failure. The wise person depends on God.” (Life Application Bible)

Fool (keciyl) means dull, sluggish, obstinate, or thickheaded; it refers not to mental deficiency, but to a propensity to make wrong choices. (Theological Wordbook of the OT)

Isaiah 42:17 (NIV) – [17] But those who trust in idols, who say to images, “You are our gods,” will be turned back in utter shame.

5. Do not trust in idols.

Colossians 3:5-6 (NIV) – [5] Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. [6] Because of these, the wrath of God is coming.

Ezekiel 33:13 (NIV) – [13] If I tell the righteous man that he will surely live, but then he trusts in his righteousness and does evil, none of the righteous things he has done will be remembered; he will die for the evil he has done.

6. Do not trust in your past righteousness.

“Past good deeds will not save a person who decides to turn to a life of sin. Some people think that if they do enough good deeds, they can hold on to the sins they don't want to give up. But it's useless to try to be good in some areas so you can be deliberately bad in others. God wants wholehearted love and obedience.” Life Application Bible)

Isaiah 31:1 (NIV) – [1] Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help, who rely on horses, who trust in the multitude of their chariots and in the great strength of their horsemen, but do not look to the Holy One of Israel, or seek help from the Lord.

7. Do not trust in Egypt.

Deuteronomy 17:16 (NIV) – [16] The king, moreover, must not acquire great numbers of horses for himself or make the people return to Egypt to get more of them, for the Lord has told you, “You are not to go back that way again.”

“After the Exodus, Egypt becomes a negative symbol in two ways. On the one hand, Egypt represents bondage and oppression. Israel’s servitude is mentioned on a number of occasions in the legal corpus as a reminder not to forget that experience of abuse… Egypt embodies the political and military temptation to turn to idolatrous superpowers instead of to Yahweh in times of acute national crisis. Several prophetic texts denounce this lack of faith.” (Dictionary of Biblical Imagery)

Job 3:11-26 (NIV) – [11] “Why did I not perish at birth, and die as I came from the womb? [12] Why were there knees to receive me and breasts that I might be nursed? [13] For now I would be lying down in peace; I would be asleep and at rest [14] with kings and counselors of the earth, who built for themselves places now lying in ruins, [15] with rulers who had gold, who filled their houses with silver. [16] Or why was I not hidden in the ground like a stillborn child, like an infant who never saw the light of day? [17] There the wicked cease from turmoil, and there the weary are at rest. [18] Captives also enjoy their ease; they no longer hear the slave driver’s shout. [19] The small and the great are there, and the slave is freed from his master. [20] Why is light given to those in misery, and life to the bitter of soul, [21] to those who long for death that does not come, who search for it more than for hidden treasure, [22] who are filled with gladness and rejoice when they reach the grave? [23] Why is life given to a man whose way is hidden, whom God has hedged in? [24] For sighing comes to me instead of food; my groans pour out like water. [25] What I feared has come upon me; what I dreaded has happened to me. [26] I have no peace, no quietness; I have no rest, but only turmoil.”

Bitterness of the Soul

Bitterness (marah) means strong feelings of hurt, hatred, and resentment toward someone from a sense of being injured or offended; it is the result of prolonged, unresolved anger or disappointment.

Hebrews 12:15 (NIV) – [15] See to it that no one misses the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many.

1. Only we can allow bitterness into our souls.

2. Bitterness can be the cause of complaining.

3. Bitterness is expressed in envy.

4. Feelings of injustice is a root of bitterness.

Ezekiel 27:31 (NIV) – [31] They will shave their heads because of you and will put on sackcloth. They will weep over you with anguish of soul and with bitter mourning.

5. Unresolved grief can give way to bitterness.

Ruth 1:20-21 (NIV) – [20] “Don’t call me Naomi,” she told them. “Call me Mara, because the Almighty has made my life very bitter. [21] I went away full, but the LORD has brought me back empty. Why call me Naomi? The LORD has afflicted me; the Almighty has brought misfortune upon me.”

6. Bitterness often blames God.

Job 6:4 (NIV) – [4] The arrows of the Almighty are in me, my spirit drinks in their poison; God’s terrors are marshaled against me.