How can I deal with the bitterness I feel from divorce?

Matthew 5:44“But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you!”

Matthew 10:16“Look, I am sending you out as sheep among wolves. So be as shrewd as snakes and harmless as doves.”

Mark 11:25“But when you are praying, first forgive anyone you are holding a grudge against, so that your Father in heaven will forgive your sins, too.”

Ephesians 4:31-32Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander, as well as all types of evil behavior. Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you.

Hebrews 12:15Look after each other so that none of you fails to receive the grace of God. Watch out that no poisonous root of bitterness grows up to trouble you, corrupting many.

If you are a victim of divorce, you may have been hurt badly, you may have been treated unjustly, you may have been humiliated. But if bitterness is allowed to fester and grow, it will consume you and overshadow all you do. Forgiveness is a choice to no longer chain yourself to what someone else did to you. It is freedom from allowing that hurt to continue to hurt you. Such forgiveness does not discredit the pain that person caused, nor does it mean choosing to trust them again—we are called to be shrewd and discerning, and that includes setting safe boundaries. However, that forgiveness does mean letting go of the hatred we may hold and letting the Holy Spirit’s love guide our hearts. Only then can we truly walk in freedom.