So here's how it works. Something happens in any relationship. Between a father and a son, husband and wife, two coworkers... someone sins against you and they hurt you. And you didn't deserve it! Bitterness begins to crop up in our hearts when someone violates us and we are not able to separate them, the person from the sin they committed. We begin to see them as the enemy not the sin.  Hebrews 12:15 talks about that, " Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled." When this happens, the devil (I call the enemy) comes in with principalities to your life and brings seven spirits to reinforce bitterness. Lets look briefly at what they are:
1. Unforgiveness. Do you still have flash backs about things that this person did to you? If I mention Billy's name can you automatically give me 10 reasons why you don't like him or how he hurt you? Once unforgiveness has taken a foothold in your mind, it opens the door for another spiritual dynamic called resentments.
2. Resentment is the record of wrongs stored in your conscious brain that you begin to meditate on and chew on over and over. When we have feelings of resentment we think about Billy up here in our minds but we feel him down here in our hearts. That's because your mind is where your soul is and your heart is where your spirit is. You are a spirit being; you have a soul and you live in your body.
Bitterness, unforgiveness and resentment are spiritual problems and not psychological problems. They are the keys to conflict in your life. It gets us right in the heart and begins to separate us from others and God and is the foundation of fear that may come later: fear of man, fear of rejection, fear of failure and fear of abandonment. But that's another lesson. With fear we run and hide.
3. Retaliation sets in next after resentment has gotten a foothold in our hearts. After resentments simmer a bit we begin to look at ways to get back at the person who caused it. Retaliation wants to make the person pay. Its time to get even. This can happen a lot unfortunately when parents, out of frustration and hurt, punish their children for bad "life" choices...
4. Anger is the first strongman emotion that begins to manifest and the enemy uses it all the time for many people as the only way to cope with bitterness that has "festered". It brings with it all the previously discussed stuff but know this spirit begins to manifest with actions and words. Where there is anger there is usually the first three spirits.
5. Hatred comes next because now all that anger insists on the fact that the person or thing involved should not even exist especially not in you presence! If at this point forgiveness does not take place, then hatred starts to develop into the elimination modality.
6. Violence usually follows hatred. It can be physical or verbal. Violence says: "Before I eliminate you, you're going to feel my pain. You're going to hear my voice. You're going to know my hatred AND you're going to experience it! Violence may come spontaneously from the heart with the root there may just be unforgiveness and your Ungodly Belief is that when someone "owes you", violence is the normal reaction. That's how a man can say, "I just love her so much" after he has beaten his wife.
7. Finally murder, the final fruit of bitterness. This can be actual physical murder or again if can be murder with the tongue or pen....It leads to character assassination or verbal abuse.
When these bitter roots are festering in a person's life, they feel that they are justified, and that everyone else is going to pay the price. They fall prey to a spirit of victimization which is then in turn  pushed on you to become a victim. Have you ever been a victim of this? Or perhaps made a victim of somebody else through your bitterness and hatred?

The key to all these spiritual issues is forgiveness. The bible says, "Don't let the sun go down on your anger." There is a good reason that God tells us that. Because over time that anger will turn into hatred which will then result in violence and even murder.
Jesus said in Matthew 18:35: "Just as the Father has forgiven you, so you need to forgive you brother from the heart." So forgiveness is not an emotion that comes from feeling good, its a command and we need to do it even when some of those seven spirits are present in our mind and heart. It's the only way that you will truly be able to find peace and the REST of God.

If you are dealing with bitterness and unforgiveness in your life and want our help, we have an Issue Focused  Ministry that deals specifically with setting you free from that. For more information, go to the Healing House section of our website under RTF  or call Jan at 205-213-0860 to set up an appointment.