Make every effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord. See to it that no one falls short of the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many. Hebrews 12:14-15.
Today your LORD (יהוה) God (אלהים) says:
Offense, if not let go immediately, becomes a bitter root that destroys. Bitter roots keep you from your source for I am love and so are you. Bitter roots will destroy you, you were not made to carry them.
Do you ever wonder why some people as they grow older, even if they were once kind to you, become mean, bitter complainers that are impossible to get along with and eventually become totally irrational? And why others become more sweet, humble, and gentle and keep clear minds to the end? It is true that diet, exercise, and your lifestyle influence your longevity and quality of life but they are actually not the primary influence. There are people who have not been all that careful with looking after their physical bodies who stay sharp and kind in their nineties, even writing books, preaching, or painting pictures.
And what I am going to reveal to you now has to do with your health, impact on others, and your wellbeing at any and every age. It will also determine your fruitfulness and your destiny. It is extremely important but the devil has blinded people’s minds to this, even believers, and stolen the best years of their lives.
The primary influence on your mind and body that determines whether or not you live a long satisfying life that blesses every person you are in contact with and keeps you fruitful even in old age (look at Moses! At 120 his eye was not dimmed and his stride was not less and he was very competent and rational) is a matter of your thoughts, words, and emotions.
A merry heart is a good medicine but a depressed spirit dries up the bones. Great peace have those that keep their minds stayed on Me. Great peace have those that keep and love My law. But the wicked cut short their lives. And I do not just mean in years, some people live to be what the world considers very old but they have no quality of life and no one does who is caring for them either. They are cluttering up the ground, like the unfruitful fig tree.
I can explain it to you in one word: Offense. All bitter roots grow from that. And yet people feel justified in taking and harboring offense. But it is deadly poison from the evil one so he can take you captive to do his will.
Careful if you take offense at what others have done to you and you do not let it go. It then becomes a bitter root in your life that grows up and spreads through your entire mind and body and destroys you physically and spiritually. And as it destroys you it spreads its noxious rotting stench to everyone around you, choking, killing, destroying, and offending. When you take offense, you become offended and become offensive. And when you begin offending others, they grow bitter roots as well that they then plant in others also. Whole nations live in offense at other nations and thus war springs up.
Please understand that no matter what someone says or does to you, if you take offense at it and will not let it go—if you will not forgive and forget and do good for that person (at least in your thoughts, prayers and words), if you let the sun go down on your anger and hold on to the offense overnight and over the years—then you take the offense in and plant it in your heart by keeping it in your mind and sharing it constantly with others, then you become offensive, bitter, and you destroy your mind and your health. You destroy your fruitfulness. And you can no longer open your heart to Me. You have detached from the Vine and have become a barren branch that dries up and dies. Good for nothing but to be thrown on the fire as firewood.
And what is worse you become an offense to others and destroy or at least curtail their fruitfulness. This will happen in whole families where a parent, who has not forgiven a past offense, plants that offense in his or her child and thus passes that bitter root to the children who then bear the same unforgiveness towards the offender as their parent.
As you give you receive and more besides.
Love does not take offense. It is does not bear a record of wrongs and it does not brood over injuries (wrongs done to it). 1 Corinthians 13:4-8. You will be wise to follow this advice for your own sake. Your quality of life depends upon it.
It is good sense in a man to be slow to anger, and it is to one’s glory to overlook an offense. Proverbs 19:11.
Forgive one another as I have forgiven you in Christ. Bear with one another lovingly. Be kindhearted. It is for your own mental, physical, and emotional health. Please do not destroy your life and render yourself unfruitful. I have such a wonderful life planned out for you if you will only heed My voice and walk in My Ways. And all My ways are faithfulness and love. I am gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in lovingkindness.
Keep your mind above where I have seated you with Christ and let offense go. Jesus never allowed Himself to be offended, He returned evil with good.
Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you. Ephesians 4:31-32.
Therefore, laying aside falsehood, speak truth each one of you with his neighbor, for we are members of one another. be angry, but do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and do not give the devil an opportunity. Ephesians 4:25-27.
Do not give the devil and his demons an opportunity to enter into your life by taking offense at others, for once they get a toehold they will work day and night to fan the fire of your offense to higher levels until they set up a foothold and then a stronghold. And soon you will have a legion of demons in you. And they come only to steal, kill and destroy your fruitfulness and, indeed, your very life. Satan wants to render as many as he can useless to My Kingdom. And with many he is able to do this by instigating and fueling offense.
Whoever would foster love covers over an offense, but whoever repeats the matter separates close friends. Proverbs 17:9.
Remember the parable My Son taught about the sower sowing the seed of My Word into people’s hearts? Some of the seed fell on ground where it began to grow and then trials and persecution came like thorns and choked out the Word, and the person fell away because he or she took offense at what was happening and abandoned following My Word. Do not be like that. It is following My Word that will perfect and keep you. My Words are life to those who find them and health to their whole bodies. I send out My Word to heal you, not to hurt you. My Words are spirit and life. If you diligently obey My Word you are and will be highly blessed and live a satisfying and fruitful life.
It is good sense in a man to be slow to anger, and it is to one’s glory to overlook an offense. Proverbs 19:11.
Why? Because the righteous shall flourish like a palm tree and shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon. Those who are planted in My house, shall flourish in My courts. They shall still bear fruit in old age; they shall be fresh and flourishing. But not so for those who live their lives in offense and unforgiveness. Keeping My Commands prolongs life, but the years of the wicked shall be shortened. Proverbs 10:27.
Bitter roots also bind shut the door to your heart so no matter how many blessings, healings, and miracles I send you in answer to your prayers, they cannot enter in. They are all stacked there outside the door of your heart. Pull out the bitter roots and they will all flood in and chase you down.
I love you. Live in the light of My love and hold up your shield of faith. It is to one’s glory to overlook an offense. Love does not take offense. Clear out your heart and mind of all offense and bitterness that is stored there from things people have done to you in the past if you want to live long and live strong.