Bitter or Better?

There was a prophet, Anna...she was very old; she had lived with her husband seven years after their marriage, and then was a widow until she was 84. She never left the temple but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying. -Luke 2:36-37 (NIV)

Of all the people of scripture that I'd like to meet, Anna would be at the top of the list. Here is a woman whose husband died seven years into their marriage; she is now 84. No doubt her husband's death dashed many of her dreams. I can only imagine the hardship that his death placed on her life and the sorrow that filled her heart.

You and I both know people who have known heartache like that...people whose spouses have died or left, people who seem to have a dark cloud always floating over their heads. I once heard a preacher say that people can respond to such affliction by either getting "bitter or better."

Anna does not choose bitterness. In fact, Luke tells us that she spends all of her time at church, worshiping God night and day. She practices the spiritual disciplines of prayer and fasting. Her misery does not push her farther away from God; it brings her closer to God. She is looking forward to the redemption of Israel and not backwards lamenting the past.

As we continue through the season of Lent, a time of confession, repentance, grace, and forgiveness, I'd like to extend the same invitation to you that I extended to our congregation on Ash Wednesday. Use this time to take a self-inventory of your life. Do you have any baggage that you're carrying around that is weighing you down or slowing you down? Are you holding on to something that is making you bitter instead of better? What would it take for you to lay those burdens down or, better yet, allow Christ to take that baggage upon himself? Isn't that exactly what his intentions were when he went to the cross?

May God grant you the grace to let go of that which would make you bitter or use those experiences to make you better.



Tomorrow's Reading: Luke 3
Sunday's Reading: Luke 4
I'll be back on Monday with a devotion on Luke 5

If you're new to the Good Morning God devotionals, I try to write and share them each Monday-Friday. Please feel free to forward the devotionals to family, friends, and co-workers. I notice an increase in the number of new subscribers when readers like you share them on Facebook or re-tweet them on Twitter. It's my prayer that these devotionals might help countless people say, "Good Morning God.