The Spirit of Bitterness
1 Samuel 30:1-6
David and his men reached Ziklag on the third day. Now the Amalekites had raided the Negev and Ziklag. They had attacked Ziklag and burned it, 2 and had taken captive the women and everyone else in it, both young and old. They killed none of them, but carried them off as they went on their way.
The Scripture makes it clear in John 10:10 that the devil's mission is "to steal and kill and destroy." The Philistines were people used by the devil to attack God's people. See, it is not always a people problem. Notice the response of the people to this tragedy. The people's first response was to kill the man of God or the Philistines rather than the enemy who sent them. The spirit of the devil can enter his own children and the children of God alike. Check your impulses. Check the spirits leading you; make sure you are not assassinating the work or leadership of God. This is why Jesus says "quench not the Spirit" of God. There are three things the devil attacks: your territory, your family, and your leadership.
When David and his men reached Ziklag, they found it destroyed by fire and their wives and sons and daughters taken captive. So David and his men wept aloud until they had no strength left to weep.
While I do not understand the emotional response to this, rest assured no matter your response, the Father understands. He made the devil as one of his angels in the beginning yet even he had his limits. You see the Father's response to those who hurt his people in his treatment of the devil. He got so mad, he threw his own servant out of Heaven along with all who followed him in Revelation 12:7-9. Who matters most to God? Without doubt, God will tear apart Heaven and earth to find you. Through history and all your tragedies and adversities, God is faithful to you as 2 Timothy 2:13 states. If you are his, he is for you. And God cares about the things you care about.
David's two wives had been captured—Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail, the widow of Nabal of Carmel. David was greatly distressed because the men were talking of stoning him; each one was bitter in spirit because of his sons and daughters. But David found strength in the Lord his God.
Bitterness can follow tragedy, loss, or sadness. The root of bitterness in your heart is like the garden weeds, affecting many. It is more deadly than the COVID-19. Bitterness is like the acid that will either give you a cast iron stomach, if you hope in God, or eat through it. Bitterness led the people to attack the leadership of God. For this reason, the Israelites complained and wandered in the wilderness forty years longer than necessary according to Hebrews 3:9-11. It can prolong your season of loss and delay your season of blessing. Godliness with contentment is great gain is every state you find yourself in as 1 Timothy 6:6 says. Be content and look to God. Tragedy meet God. Bitterness meet God. The only cure for a bitter heart is the Lord. The people did one thing right. God did not fault them for feeling this way. Yet they did not kill the leadership. God will keep you from losing it. See their response to king David, 'what shall we do?' Do not make the mistake of coming into the kitchen; there are pens and knives in there. When you are the one being attacked, God will keep you. No matter the threat you face, he is your shield and buckler as in Psalm 18:2 and will keep the threat from coming near you. You do not have to wake up disturbed in the morning or run for your life because of the keeping power of God. "Greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world" as in 1 John 4:4.