Bitterness can quietly take root in our hearts, affecting our relationships, our spiritual lives, and even our well-being. Hebrews 12:15 warns believers not to let a "root of bitterness" grow and cause trouble. Discover how forgiveness, God's grace, and surrendering your burdens to Jesus can free you from resentment and restore lasting peace.

Holding onto past hurts often feels justified, but it ultimately weighs us down more than the people who hurt us. Kelly Balarie explores the biblical call to release bitterness, embrace Christ's forgiveness, and trust God with the pain we were never meant to carry. When we remember how much Jesus has forgiven us, we find the strength to forgive others and experience true freedom.

Highlights:
Learn what the Bible says about the dangerous root of bitterness.
Discover how unforgiveness can impact your spiritual, emotional, and relational health.
Understand why God's grace is the antidote to resentment.
Explore practical ways to release anger, offense, and hurt to Jesus.
Be encouraged by Christ's example of forgiveness and sacrificial love.
Find hope in casting your burdens on God instead of carrying them alone.

Join the Conversation

Have you experienced the freedom that comes from letting go of bitterness? What has helped you trust God with past hurts and choose forgiveness?

Continue the conversation with the Crosswalk community here: https://forums.crosswalk.com/

Do you want to listen ad-free?

When you join Crosswalk Plus, you gain access to exclusive, in-depth Bible study guides, devotionals, sound biblical advice, and daily encouragement from trusted pastors and authors—resources designed to strengthen your faith and equip you to live it out boldly. PLUS ad free podcasts! 

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Full Transcript Below:

How to Get the Root of Bitterness Gone 
By: Kelly Balarie

Bible Reading:
“See to it that no one falls short of God’s grace; that no root of resentment springs up and causes trouble, and by it many be defiled…” – Hebrews 12:15 AMP

My husband and I have a friend. He’s one of the top national scholars for cancer medicine and research.

Curious, we asked him, “Have you identified a link between unforgiveness and bitterness with a cancer diagnosis?”

His answer? 

“Yes, in fact, my mom couldn’t forgive. She had cancer two times.”

Interestingly enough, beyond his mom, he saw a correlation. So do various scientific studies. According to the website Doctors Beyond Medicine, studies show suppressed anger and emotions are linked to cancer. They note, “emotional toxicity is most likely the cause of their cancer, and that forgiveness, if used with appropriate treatments and lifestyle changes that address the physical, is a ‘first-line’ primary treatment.”

Wow. I was astonished.

But, I wondered, what does scripture have to say about this?

“See to it that no one falls short of God’s grace; that no root of resentment springs up and causes trouble, and by it many be defiled…” (Heb. 12:15 AMP)

Biblically speaking, defilement does not only happen in thought, but it can also happen in our body, soul, and mind. 

We are the temple of God and not to defile God’s temple, our body (1 Cor. 16:19-20).
We are instructed to be cleansed of anything defiling in body or spirit (2 Cor. 7:1)
We learn that what defiles us is what comes out of our hearts (Mark 7:20-23). 

Clearly, I don’t have all the answers on cancer, but what I do have a clear answer on is that we don’t want to be defiled in body, soul, or mind.

This certainly made me sure that I don’t want to be “defiled.”

What about us – are we defiled? Do we harbor bitterness? Do we keep resentments, nursing them like a baby? Do we hold records of wrongs against people, convicting them via our thoughts? Might we be angry?

The irony? What we hold against others does not hurt them; it hurts us.

What pain we keep inside of us – grows within us.  We may think this doesn’t matter, that it doesn’t hurt anyone, that no one can see it, but it absolutely does hurt – us. Not only that, it oozes onto others.

Can’t we all see that person we know with a face of anger? They think no one knows, but certainly, when you look at them, you can easily identify their eyebrows furrowing in. They believe they hide it well, but it takes a second to recognize their facial tension from all they are holding in. You can feel the edginess in their responses. Their pent-up stuff doesn’t just exist in their mind; they hold it in their body, and it speaks between the lines of their words.

May this person never, ever, be us…

If we have been defiled by a root of bitterness, what we think we are hiding is most likely residing on our face, living in our body, and oozing out from our responses.

God, help.

Of course, we know that life has a way of sucker punching us. People will be people. Circumstances hurt. Offense is rampant. 

How do we forbid defilement in our body, mind, and spirit? 

We remember The One who was reviled, so that we don’t have to live defiled. Jesus.

Jesus carried the weight of our sin, so we don’t have to live under its weight. Even more, Jesus carried the weight of fellow believers’ sin, so we don’t have to live under its weight.  

If Jesus forgave us so much, how can we not forgive others the same way? We can forgive much, because He forgave much. We can love much, because He loved us so much. 

Intersecting Faith & Life:

What does this look like practically?

To release from the mind, the body, and the spirit looks like something. Scripture invites us to cast our cares on the Lord (1 Pet. 5:7). “To cast”, biblically, does not look like a light and airy casting; it looks like a complete throwing off, like someone might throw a saddle on a horse.

It’s getting off of you and releasing onto Him what He already paid the price for. Why not cast your worries, cares, bitterness, anger, or resentments onto Jesus? Let Him take care of them. He will do a much better job than you will.

Bitterness can quietly take root in our hearts, affecting our relationships, our spiritual lives, and even our well-being. Hebrews 12:15 warns believers not to let a "root of bitterness" grow and cause trouble. Discover how forgiveness, God's grace, and surrendering your burdens to Jesus can free you from resentment and restore lasting peace.
Holding onto past hurts often feels justified, but it ultimately weighs us down more than the people who hurt us. Kelly Balarie explores the biblical call to release bitterness, embrace Christ's forgiveness, and trust God with the pain we were never meant to carry. When we remember how much Jesus has forgiven us, we find the strength to forgive others and experience true freedom.
Highlights:
<ul data-spread="false">
<li>Learn what the Bible says about the dangerous root of bitterness.</li>
<li>Discover how unforgiveness can impact your spiritual, emotional, and relational health.</li>
<li>Understand why God's grace is the antidote to resentment.</li>
<li>Explore practical ways to release anger, offense, and hurt to Jesus.</li>
<li>Be encouraged by Christ's example of forgiveness and sacrificial love.</li>
<li>Find hope in casting your burdens on God instead of carrying them alone.</li>
</ul>
Join the Conversation
Have you experienced the freedom that comes from letting go of bitterness? What has helped you trust God with past hurts and choose forgiveness?
Continue the conversation with the Crosswalk community here: <a href="https://forums.crosswalk.com/">https://forums.crosswalk.com/</a>
Do you want to listen ad-free?
When you join&nbsp;Crosswalk Plus, you gain access to exclusive, in-depth Bible study guides, devotionals, sound biblical advice, and daily encouragement from trusted pastors and authors&mdash;resources designed to strengthen your faith and equip you to live it out boldly. PLUS ad free podcasts!&nbsp;
<a href="https://www.crosswalk.com/subscribe/?utm_source=subscribe_page&amp;utm_medium=YDBV&amp;utm_campaign=YDBV_PLUS">Sign Up Today!</a>
<hr>
Full Transcript Below:
How to Get the Root of Bitterness Gone By: Kelly Balarie
Bible Reading: &ldquo;See to it that no one falls short of God&rsquo;s grace; that no root of resentment springs up and causes trouble, and by it many be defiled&hellip;&rdquo; &ndash; Hebrews 12:15 AMP
My husband and I have a friend. He&rsquo;s one of the top national scholars for cancer medicine and research.
Curious, we asked him, &ldquo;Have you identified a link between unforgiveness and bitterness with a cancer diagnosis?&rdquo;
His answer?&nbsp;
&ldquo;Yes, in fact, my mom couldn&rsquo;t forgive. She had cancer two times.&rdquo;
Interestingly enough, beyond his mom, he saw a correlation. So do various scientific studies. According to the website <a href="https://doctorsbeyondmedicine.com/the-link-between-cancer-unexpressed-anger/">Doctors Beyond Medicine</a>, studies show suppressed anger and emotions are linked to cancer. They note, &ldquo;emotional toxicity is most likely the cause of their cancer, and that forgiveness, if used with appropriate treatments and lifestyle changes that address the physical, is a &lsquo;first-line&rsquo; primary treatment.&rdquo;
Wow. I was astonished.
But, I wondered, what does scripture have to say about this?
&ldquo;See to it that no one falls short of God&rsquo;s grace; that no root of resentment springs up and causes trouble, and by it many be defiled&hellip;&rdquo; (Heb. 12:15 AMP)
Biblically speaking, defilement does not only happen in thought, but it can also happen in our body, soul, and mind.&nbsp;
We are the temple of God and not to defile God&rsquo;s temple, our body (1 Cor. 16:19-20). We are instructed to be cleansed of anything defiling in body or spirit (2 Cor. 7:1) We learn that what defiles us is what comes out of our hearts (Mark 7:20-23).&nbsp;
Clearly, I don&rsquo;t have all the answers on cancer, but what I do have a clear answer on is that we don&rsquo;t want to be defiled in body, soul, or mind.
This certainly made me sure that I don&rsquo;t want to be &ldquo;defiled.&rdquo;
What about us &ndash; are we defiled? Do we harbor bitterness? Do we keep resentments, nursing them like a baby? Do we hold records of wrongs against people, convicting them via our thoughts? Might we be angry?
The irony? What we hold against others does not hurt them; it hurts us.
What pain we keep inside of us &ndash; grows within us.&nbsp; We may think this doesn&rsquo;t matter, that it doesn&rsquo;t hurt anyone, that no one can see it, but it absolutely does hurt &ndash; us. Not only that, it oozes onto others.
Can&rsquo;t we all see that person we know with a face of anger? They think no one knows, but certainly, when you look at them, you can easily identify their eyebrows furrowing in. They believe they hide it well, but it takes a second to recognize their facial tension from all they are holding in. You can feel the edginess in their responses. Their pent-up stuff doesn&rsquo;t just exist in their mind; they hold it in their body, and it speaks between the lines of their words.
May this person never, ever, be us&hellip;
If we have been defiled by a root of bitterness, what we think we are hiding is most likely residing on our face, living in our body, and oozing out from our responses.
God, help.
Of course, we know that life has a way of sucker punching us. People will be people. Circumstances hurt. Offense is rampant.&nbsp;
How do we forbid defilement in our body, mind, and spirit?&nbsp;
We remember The One who was reviled, so that we don&rsquo;t have to live defiled. Jesus.
Jesus carried the weight of our sin, so we don&rsquo;t have to live under its weight. Even more, Jesus carried the weight of fellow believers&rsquo; sin, so we don&rsquo;t have to live under its weight.&nbsp; If Jesus forgave us so much, how can we not forgive others the same way? We can forgive much, because He forgave much. We can love much, because He loved us so much.&nbsp;
Intersecting Faith &amp; Life:
What does this look like practically?
To release from the mind, the body, and the spirit looks like something. Scripture invites us to cast our cares on the Lord (1 Pet. 5:7). &ldquo;To cast&rdquo;, biblically, does not look like a light and airy casting; it looks like a complete throwing off, like someone might throw a saddle on a horse.
It&rsquo;s getting off of you and releasing onto Him what He already paid the price for. Why not cast your worries, cares, bitterness, anger, or resentments onto Jesus? Let Him take care of them. He will do a much better job than you will.

Are you a Christian looking for a daily devotional podcast to encourage, inspire, and convict you in your walk with Christ? 7 days a week, The Crosswalk.com Daily Devotional Podcast offers wisdom and insight for applying Biblical truths to the ups and downs of everyday life. Let's study the Bible together and through the experiences of other believers, learn how to apply the Word of God to our lives.

Here’s just some of what we cover in The Crosswalk Daily Devotional Podcast:

☕️ Why the Tongue Can't Be Tamed (And What to Do about It)
☕️ The Quickest Way to an Attitude Adjustment
☕️ Your Birthday: The Most and Least Important Day of Your Life
☕️ Noticing God's Blessings in the Hardest Moments of Life
☕️ One of the Sneakiest Lies Satan Is Telling the Church
☕️ How to Push Through the Weariness of Prayer
☕️ 3 Steps to Take When Facing Temptation
☕️ What to Remember during a Stressful Election Year

If you love what you're listening to on the podcast, be sure to check out our companion devotional at https://www.crosswalk.com/devotionals/crosswalk-devo/.

Are you a Christian looking for a daily devotional podcast to encourage, inspire, and convict you in your walk with Christ? 7 days a week, The Crosswalk.com Daily Devotional Podcast offers wisdom and insight for applying Biblical truths to the ups and downs of everyday life. Let's study the Bible together and through the experiences of other believers, learn how to apply the Word of God to our lives.
Here’s just some of what we cover in The Crosswalk Daily Devotional Podcast:
☕️ Why the Tongue Can't Be Tamed (And What to Do about It) ☕️ The Quickest Way to an Attitude Adjustment ☕️ Your Birthday: The Most and Least Important Day of Your Life ☕️ Noticing God's Blessings in the Hardest Moments of Life ☕️ One of the Sneakiest Lies Satan Is Telling the Church ☕️ How to Push Through the Weariness of Prayer ☕️ 3 Steps to Take When Facing Temptation ☕️ What to Remember during a Stressful Election Year
If you love what you're listening to on the podcast, be sure to check out our companion devotional at <a href="https://www.crosswalk.com/devotionals/crosswalk-devo/">https://www.crosswalk.com/devotionals/crosswalk-devo/.</a>

7 days a week, The Crosswalk.com Devotional Podcast offers wisdom and insight for applying Biblical truths to the ups and downs of everyday life.

The Crosswalk Devotional: A Daily Devotional Christian Podcast

The Crosswalk Devotional

How to Get the Root of Bitterness Gone

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/5e27a451-e6e6-4c51-aa03-a7370003783c/clips/48a00b9c-8480-4dbb-84eb-b49800ee1acf/transcript