Bitter to Sweet

My beloved is to me a pouch of myrrh which lies all night between my breasts.

In a large Bible opened in the chapel my husband and I were married in, the words of this verse from Song of Solomon 1:13 caught my attention, even while our five small children circled the sanctuary freely behind us.

Boy did this verse seem to say it all – to characterize these ten years of marriage and more so, these last ten years of loving Jesus.

What I knew of myrrh at that point was twofold – (1) a costly gift to a king by magi from the East more than 2000 years ago, and (2) an expensive burial spice to anoint that same king Jesus.  A symbol of royalty, and a symbol of suffering and death.  Certainly, Jesus is the King of kings, and surely did he suffer and die for you and me.

And just as John the Baptist foretold, Jesus baptized his followers, not with water, but with the Holy Spirit and with fire.  The fire of suffering and trial.  Imagine watching the man you followed for three years, seeing Him perform countless miracles and hearing the grace that poured from His lips, and feeling the indescribable love of His Father. Imagine watching Him tried, scourged, mocked, beaten, following at a distance along the Via de la Rosa to where He suffered a piercing death on a tree.  Not only were the disciples so beyond exhaustion at trying to keep in step with God incarnate, but now, how their hearts were shattered, their dreams dead, their King crucified, leaving only confusion and bitterness.

Before I married, Jesus had become my King, and in seeking to know Him more, I had embraced the fellowship of His sufferings.

Then God called me to marry and follow my Jeff.  Not only have these years with Jeff shown me a noble heart up close, but they have taken me through many hard places.

So now, I decided to look further into the Biblical significance of myrrh.  What I found would only deepen my convictions.  Looking in my Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance, I discovered that part of myrrh’s definition is bitter, as in the wine mixed with myrrh that soldiers tried to give Jesus on the cross.

Wait a minute.  I understand embracing the lordship of Christ, as well as the fellowship of sufferings, but bitterness?

Also, associated with myrrh’s definition and it’s primary root were these words – grieved, angry, discontented.

Certainly, we are not to embrace any of these poisons near the heart, but I personally have spent much time and energy battling to defeat these viscous enemies of the soul.

And I am not alone. 

Peter was so committed to Christ that he felt sure he was ready to die for Him.  After denying three times that he even knew Jesus, Peter went out and wept bitterly.

So can these intense negative emotions serve a purpose?

Well, I also found that myrrh defined is distilling as drops.

Yes, that’s it!

This baptism of suffering and trial is for our purification.  The second part of Hebrews 12:10 tells us that God disciplines us for our good, that we may share His holiness.  God’s refining process in our lives readies us for more of His Holy Spirit.

But this amazing grace available to us all to experience more of God, though given, it is not a given.

Jesus tells Peter in Luke 22:31+32, “Simon, Simon, behold, Satan has demanded permission to sift you like wheat;  but I have prayed for you, that your faith may not fail;  and you, when once you have turned again, strengthen your brothers.”

When he turned again — repentance.

Do you recall the waters of Marah found in Exodus 15:23?

And when they (the people of Israel) came to Marah, they could not drink the waters of Marah,for they were bitter;  therefore it was named Marah (i.e. bitterness).  So the people grumbled at Moses, saying, “What shall we drink?”

Then he cried out to the LORD, and the LORD showed him a tree;  and he threw it into the waters, and the waters became sweet.

And on in verse 26,  And He said, “If you will give earnest heed to the voice of the LORD your God, and do what is right in His sight, and give ear to His commandments, and keep all His statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you which I have put on the Egyptians;  for I, the LORD, am your healer.”

The tree that Moses was shown to throw into the bitter waters foreshadowed the cross of Jesus Christ.

We can apply the cross of Jesus Christ to our bitter hearts and they will be made sweet!

The anger and discontentment associated with the loss I have experienced these past ten years, watching dreams die, loved ones die, suffering physical pain and death, rejection and hatred, well, I can see now that the continual act of turning back to God, dying to myself, and embracing the cross – I have been crucified with Christ- has resulted in more sweetness inside of me.  Now I would like if that was a pure sweetness, but I confess a great need for God to continue His work on me.

So how do we apply the cross of Christ to the bitterness of our hearts?

Well, first of all, it is by faith. 

Jesus said in John 16:10, “Righteousness is available because I go to the Father, and you will see me no more.

Hebrews 11:1+2 tells us:   Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.

For by it (faith) the men of old gained approval or literally, obtained a testimony.

And in Romans 4:3 For what does the Scripture say?  “AND ABRAHAM BELIEVED GOD, AND IT WAS RECKONED TO HIM AS RIGHTEOUSNESS.”

When I was first learning how to walk in the Holy Spirit, I was living with three other college-aged women.  During that time, I had done something to make them all mad at me.  Fortunately, I do not remember what I did wrong, but I do remember God’s comfort, counsel, and encouragement.

I was sitting in my Dad’s cotton field, it was harvest time, when God asked me this, “Do you believe that my death on the cross was enough to pay for your sins?”

I knew He wasn’t wanting me to just answer from my head, so I searched my heart and then said, “yes, I do.”  God responded, “then act like it.”

Okay.

Returning back to our rental house, where the air was thick, I knew it was expected of me that I would be  heavy under the guilt of my sin and the condemnation of my roommates.

Instead, I chose to have the joy of the Lord, coming from a belief in His unconditional love and forgiveness of me, a sinner.

I’m not suggesting being insensitive to others, we are to seek forgiveness and reconciliation when we hurt others.  But if they will not give it, God certainly will!

I also think of Psalms 18:37 where David says, “I pursued my enemies and overtook them, and I did not turn back until they were consumed.”

And in Psalm 44:5 it says,

Through Thee we will push back our adversaries;  through Thy name we will trample down those who rise up against us.”

Now does this mean that if someone hurts us that we take revenge?  Of course not! 

Romans 12:19 tells us:

Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room (lit. give  a place) for the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord.

So what enemies do I have in mind?  Well, in this case, the enemies were the unbelief found in my own heart, as well as condemnation.

And how did I fight these enemies?

By the Word of God.

Romans 8:1 says, There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

John 6:47 says, “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes has eternal life.

And many more like Scriptures.

So faith in the cross of Jesus Christ to cover my sins is the first mode of attack.  Second comes forgiving others.  By forgiving others, we show our faith through obedience to His Word.

In Matthew 6:14+15 Jesus tells us this, “For if you forgive men for their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.  But if you do not forgive men, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions.

And again Jesus explains this to us in Matthew 18:21-35.

Then Peter came to him and asked, “Lord, how often should I forgive someone who sins against me?  Seven times?”

“No, not seven times,” Jesus replied, “but seventy times seven!

“Therefore, the Kingdom of Heaven can be compared to a king who decided to bring his accounts up to date with servants who had borrowed money from him.  In the process, one of his debtors was brought in who owed him millions of dollars.  He couldn’t pay, so his master ordered that he be sold–along with his wife, his children, and everything he owned–to pay the debt.

“But the man fell down before his master an begged him, ‘Please, be patient with me, and I will pay it all.’  Then his master was filled with pity for him, and he released him and forgave his debt.

“But when the man left the king, he went to a fellow servant who owed him a few thousand dollars.  He grabbed him by the throat and demanded instant payment.

 ”His fellow servant fell down before him and begged for a little more time.  ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay it,’ he pleaded.  But his creditor wouldn’t wait.  He had the man arrested and put in prison until the debt could be paid in full.

“When some of the other servants saw this, they were very upset.  They went to the king and told him everything that had happened.  Then the king called in the man he had forgiven and said, ‘You evil servant!  I forgave you that tremendous debt because you pleaded with me.  Shouldn’t you have mercy on your fellow servant, just as I had mercy on you?’  Then the angry king sent the man to prison to be tortured until he had paid his entire debt. 

“That’s what my heavenly Father will do to you if you refuse to forgive your brothers and sisters from your heart.”

Jesus rejected the wine mixed with myrrh on the cross.  He refused to hold unforgiveness in His heart.  He is our example.  He is who we as christians are to follow.  We can look to the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was raised up and crucified on a tree, at the crossroads for all the world to see, and be healed – healed from the bitterness in our hearts.  I tell you, I don’t think I’m alone when I say that there have been many times when this was an intense struggle.  And though I would forgive by faith, by choice, often the bad feelings remained.  So over and over again I read Scriptures on forgiveness, I prayed for God’s help, I wrote out on paper offenses of others and would write a cross over them.  I asked others to pray for me, and back through the whole process again – the distilling process.

It has been work pursuing this enemy of my soul, but like David, I have been determined to not give up until unforgiveness was gone from my heart.  And now, when new offenses come my way, I can move quickly down this road well trodden.

Listen, don’t give up on this.  You can obey God.

Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.  Matthew 5:4

Are you mourning today the death of a loved one, the death of a dream, the death of a friendship?  God wants to comfort you.  The Holy Spirit is a comforter.

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.  Matthew 5:8

Do you want to see God move in your life and the life of your family, your friends?  God wants to reveal Himself to you.  The Holy Spirit is a counselor.

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.  Matthew 5:3

Are you discouraged today, hurting, depressed, needing hope and direction?  God wants to help you.  The Holy Spirit is an encourager.

Have you believed in Jesus to forgive you of your sins?  Today you can ask Jesus, who died on the cross to pay for your sins, to come into your heart and make it sweet.

Jesus offers us a brand new life in Him.  A life full of meaning and full of love.  If this is the desire of your heart, pray with me now.

Dear Father, thank You for sending Your Son Jesus to die in my place, for my sins.  Come into my heart and forgive my sins, and help me to become the person you want me to be.  Amen.

Have you already been born again?  Do you long to have the trials and suffering that have been in your life turn out for good and for God’s glory?  Let’s pray.

Father, thank you for sending Jesus to be my Saviour.  Make my bitter heart sweet.  Thank you for the trials You’ve given.  Help my life to bring You glory.  Amen.

---