Repress and Rehearse

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Southeast Christian Church

May 26, 2023

Scripture tells us that the root of bitterness is like this poisonous weed that chokes the Holy Spirit inside of you. When we are hurt by others, we repress it, we rehearse it, but we also can resort to retaliating against it. Joseph started to do this with his brothers, and he was in every position to. We are not likely in a position like Joseph, where we can throw people in prison or have them executed. But we have our own ways of retaliating. We recruit opponents by trying to turn other people against the person who hurt us, or we retaliate with social isolation where we turn a cold shoulder to the person. We retaliate by being constantly critical or by constantly reminding them of the offense they have committed. Think about if this is how Jesus treated us and was constantly critical or always reminding us of these things up in our past, but yet, we end up doing this to one another.

Our last option in response to our hurt is what Joseph does – we release it. You release freely and you let it go. This doesn't mean that the healing will be immediate. It doesn't mean that what happened in the past is no big deal. It doesn't mean that you're making excuses for that person. It doesn't mean that you refuse to press charges if a crime has been committed. It doesn't mean that abuse should be tolerated. Releasing it doesn't diminish or reduce the seriousness of the offense, but you are releasing your bitterness and your anger to God's sovereignty for his will to unfold in your life.

You can't keep holding onto things from your past. You can find freedom when you decide to release your right to retaliate. You're releasing what you are owed and recognizing that you're not going to live in those feelings anymore. The reason that's possible is because Jesus and what Jesus has done for us by delivering us from sin and shame. Because of his reconciliating us to God, we have within us the grace needed to be reconciled with one another.

Reflection/Discussion Question: What is God calling you to release today?

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