2020 Daily Devotion - Day 161

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Dr. Jim Moore, pastor of St. Luke’s UMC in Houston wrote a book entitled "You Can Grow Bitter or You Can Grow Better". He wrote that he came up with the idea for the title from a young woman who once came to him in a most tragic moment in her life.

She had tears in her eyes and her knuckles were white as she twisted a handkerchief. She had just received word that her twenty-six-year-old husband had been killed in a farming accident, leaving her alone with three pre-school age children. One moment he was alive and vibrant; the next moment gone. "I don’t know how I am going to be able to get along without him," she sobbed. "But I do know one thing. I can either get bitter or I can get better."

Whatever you are going through today, it is essential for you to not allow it to make you “bitter” because “bitterness” will make things a great deal worse. Replace your bitterness with thankfulness. I have found no matter what happens, there is at least one thing for which we can be thankful. In your prayers, you can even ask God to give you a grateful heart.

Hebrews 12:15 ESV
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.

Pray with me:
Heavenly Father, give us a grateful heart today. No matter what we are going through, there is something for which we can be thankful. Protect us from bitterness and help us to get better. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
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