JUNE 26, 2022

RECOVERING FROM RESENTMENT
Building Strong Relationships
I Corinthians 13:5

I Cor. 13:5 – Love keeps no record of wrongs.
(LB) Does not hold grudges.

1. Causes of resentment (All verses from Job…Good News Translation.)

What people say about us.

Job 12:5 – You have no troubles, yet you make fun of me; you hit a man who is about to fall.

What people think about us.

Job 19:5 – You think you are better than I am and regard my troubles as proof of my guilt.

What people do to us.

Job 19:19 – Those I love most have turned against me.

2. The problem with resentment.

a. It is unreasonable.

Job 5:2 – To worry yourself to death with resentment would be a foolish, senseless thing to do.

Ecc. 7:9 – It’s foolish to harbor a grudge.

b. It is unhelpful.

Job 18:4 – You are only hurting yourself with your anger.

c. It is unhealthy.

Job 21:23-25 – Some men stay healthy till the day they die, others have no happiness at all, they live and die with bitter hearts.

3. The cure for resentment.

a. Reveal your hurt.

Job 7:11 – I can’t be quiet. I am angry and bitter. I have to speak.

Job 10:1 – Listen to my bitter complaint. Don’t condemn me, God!

b. Release your offender.

Job 42:10 – After Job prayed for his three friends, the Lord made him prosperous again and gave him twice as much as he had before!

Matt. 18:21-22 – Peter asked Jesus, ‘Lord how many times should I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?’ Jesus answered, ‘Not seven times, but seventy times seven times!’

Forgiveness must be continual!

c. Refocus your life.

Job 11:13-18 – Put your heart right, reach out to God, then face the world again, firm and courageous. Then all your troubles will fade from your memory, like floods that are past and remembered not more.

Don’t resist a feeling, replace it!

Job 42:12 – God blessed the last part of Job’s life even more than He had blessed the first!