The BITTER Truth!

I don't know who came up with the term THE BITTER TRUTH, but I absolutely LOVE it!

Many of us think that the truth is this sweet to the taste, pleasant, sweet smelling, tickling the senses (the flesh).

Often, I find that the truth is NOTHING BUT sweet!

The truth is HEAVY.  HARD HITTING.  ABRUPT.  NEVER POLITICALLY OR RELIGIOUSLY CORRECT.  

Truth interrupts our plans.  It sinks our agendas.  It most often cancels and eradicates what WE want.  

Because the TRUTH is bitter to the taste, those who administer it are OFTEN called bitter.

Are doctors and pharmacists bitter?  How about Nursing Assistants and practitioners?  Or Patient Care Advocates?

Some of the nicest, caring, kindest, most servant like people I have EVER had the pleasure of knowing are in the medical field.  I have been blessed to have had great experiences with many in the medical field.  

They genuinely care about the well being of their patients.  Even when administering their medical care OFTEN requires them to give treatments and medications that are - at first - EXTREMELY painful and unpleasant.

How many of you have had a colonoscopy?  Or a mammogram?  Or had a catheter?  Or had to recover from some sort of surgery?

It HURT and was VERY uncomfortable, wasn't it????

Well, God speaks through folks who are a lot like doctors, nurses, others who work in the medical field.  

OFTENTIMES, they have to give a hard word.  They ARE on assignment (I know that makes some folks cringe...but I STILL believe that God uses folks!)

God will tell someone to say something, write something, that may offend.  Some will misinterpret that as bitterness...but its NOT because the person giving it is, in fact, bitter.

ITS BECAUSE THEY TASTE THAT WORD, THAT ADVICE, THAT COUNSEL, THAT TEACHING, THAT REBUKE, THAT WRITING...AND IT IS NOT SWEET!  

As soon as that word hits that tongue, they make this face.  'That doesn't taste good!"  They balk.

If you got a word that 'tastes good,' if you come across a teaching that appeases and pacifies you, if your senses are all tingly and warm feeling...you got the fuzzies reading something....

CHANCES ARE IT IS NOT FROM GOD!!!!!!

Do you remember JEREMIAH: THE 'BITTER' PROPHET?

When God speaks through you, OFTEN folks will want to label you as 'bitter.'

Jeremiah was a prophet who was OFTEN misunderstood and labeled. Folks tried to sum him up based upon the HARD, BITTER word and prophecies God spoke through him. In Jeremiah 15, Jeremiah was feeling sorry for himself, saying that 'he' was the source of derision and conflict that was upon Israel. Why?

Because God was consistently speaking JUDGMENT on Israel...THRU the mouth of the prophet! And that speaking forth of the word of GOD was a constant source of inner conflict for Jeremiah. He began to feel like because of the Word God gave, it was somehow his fault.

The folks sure made him feel that way!

I want you to read Jeremiah 15-17. In Jeremiah 16...God sent warning telling the people to not have kids or marry while in captivity.

SURELY once Jeremiah OBEYED GOD and gave SUCH A HARD WORD to GOD'S CHOSEN PEOPLE, he was accused of being 'bitter.'

But he was not.

He was just OBEDIENT.

How does the saying goes?
Dont hate the messenger, HEED THE MESSAGE!