Friday Fight 106: Bitter, Better, Best - Our Spiritual Landscape

Every Friday, when I wake and pray, God places something on my heart to help me fight darkness beginning in our minds. Today is FF106.

Ever noticed how many businesses have a good, better, and best option for whatever service or product they offer? As cost increases, you get better services and upgrades. Companies use this sales model to make the top option the most attractive and beneficial. An example of this is a car wash. You could get the basic wash or move up a level and get a wash, dry, and rain repellant. Or you could opt for the highest tier and get the wash, dry, rain repellant, wax, and tire shine. Which level looks the most appealing to you?

What if we applied this model to our spiritual lives and looked at how to get the “best” tier of what God intended? Companies formulate a plan using the G-B-B to sell the highest value product to consumers, but how can we apply this to God’s plan for us?

Bitter, Better, Best - Our Spiritual Landscape:

You may wonder why you are reading about car wash choices and how this has anything to do with a Friday Fight, so let’s apply it. Companies use GBB to make more money, but God only wants what is best for us at no cost. God has given us free will but sent His Son to die on the cross for us to have the best of everything. Christ was beaten, bruised, abused, and took the shame of all our sins upon himself. It’s called The Great Exchange. Jesus got everything we deserved, and we got everything he deserved, forgiveness and eternal life. The power of forgiveness is incredible, but let’s look at how it can be perceived by those who have not experienced the fullness of it, how it can repel other sins and let the light of Christ fully shine through us. John 10:10 is not only about the thief who comes to destroy that Christ came to give us life and have it to the full.

Bitter: Imagine carrying our hurt for so long that we begin resenting who wounded us. Now imagine you are walking on a path that suddenly divides. We don’t realize it, but rather than remaining next to Christ and the leading of the Holy Spirit, a crevice begins to emerge. Before long, our refusal to forgive will leave us in a bitter place solely directed by our wounds. We falsely believe that avoidance is an awareness meant to instill happiness, not realizing this view is from a compromised perspective. Bitter people are easily spotted; they complain often or are passive-aggressive with negative remarks. This is the option Satan floods our minds to choose.

Better: We struggle as we try to return to God by making our way up this landscape that led us away from Him. We want to forgive, but we are angry. We believe we hear the Holy Spirit clearly, so we forgive the person but no longer have anything to do with them. The infamous “I will forgive, but never forget.” Partially forgiving someone is where Satan can work behind the scenes because we believe we are walking in God’s purpose of forgiveness, but that is not the truth! In both bitter and better options, we aren’t standing on solid ground; our foundation constantly moves as we undergo a spiritual battle and changing landscapes.

Best: As we move toward Christ, we finally reach God’s best for us. We fully surrender and forgive, now watching as the crevice we created begins to close. We are no longer led by our wounds but by the Holy Spirit. Praising God while in pain allows our surrender and trust in God to activate healing, joy, and hope. Each day we choose forgiveness, God restores us. In our obedience, God graciously blesses us in the VERY area where we suffered. Instead of avoiding correction from the Holy Spirit, we welcome it. In our choice of what God intended for us through Calvary, He takes all that darkness stolen from us and uses it for His glory.

When Christ died on the cross, He suffered so we could enjoy life to the fullest. He wants our lives to be filled with joy and hope, not anger and bitterness, which separates us from each other and Him. He wants us to choose Him because He loves us and will always be our best option in everything we do.

Pastor Shannon

New Life Calvert