“For the Word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12).

Grumpy, angry, bitter, and lonely old Jeanette came under very heavy conviction when the little six-year-old next door neighbor, Lucy, referred to her as sounding like an old witch. Although Lucy got in trouble for her words, God used the little child to really speak to bitter old Jeanette. Finding her Bible buried deep under books and magazines, Jeanette opened the Scriptures and leafed through the New Testament. Her eyes fell upon Ephesians 4:30-32. Many, many years ago she had underlined these verses which state, “Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamor, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: and be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake has forgiven you.” As our verse for today reminds us, God’s Word is alive and powerful, and once again the Holy Spirit greatly convicted Jeanette about her sin of bitterness. This time it would be different, however. Before she had resisted and grieved the Holy Spirit. Today she sat and wept and confessed her great sin to the Lord. It would be later that afternoon that a humbled and repentant elderly Jeanette would make her way next door. With tears streaming down her cheeks she asked the Patterson family for forgiveness. God was giving her another opportunity to rebuild that which her bitterness had destroyed. How about you? Do you have any bitterness that needs to be replaced with kindness?

For today: It is always wise to obey the Lord and to heed His Word.