Devotion 6: What Lies Beneath
Last summer, we had a major issue going on in our front yard. A section of our pavers in the front of the house began to lift. At first, it was subtle—just a slight wobble when stepping on them. It was noticeable but pretty easy to ignore. Very quickly, we realized that there was an obvious issue that needed to be addressed. The entire walkway, and even parts of the driveway, were beginning to crack and raise up. When we finally started pulling up the bricks, the cause was revealed: a massive tree root was growing underneath the sidewalk, stemming from the tree 30 feet away. These pavers have been lining our walkway for years, perfectly level! The tree out front has stood tall for equally as long. In one short summer, this monster root, hidden underground, was persistent and powerful enough to move stone. This is the image that comes to my mind when Scripture warns us about a “root of bitterness.”
Hebrews 12:15 says, "See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that no 'root of bitterness' springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled." Bitterness doesn’t announce itself loudly. It starts quietly when there is something unresolved in our hearts like a hurt or disappointment that plays vividly over and over again in our memory. We often rehearse those offenses instead of finding the grace to forgive and let them go. Bitterness is something that takes hold when our wounds go unattended and grace goes unused. On the outside we cover it up, we lay our emotional “pavers” back in place, and act as if nothing is wrong, but internally, we’ve made space for a root to sprout in our hearts. Before we know it, bitterness has crowded the very space where the Holy Spirit resides in us. We continue in our day-to-day life attending worship gatherings and going through the motions of acting out our faith, but what leaks out is gossip, criticism, and negativity, infecting the atmosphere of our home or church. Bitterness isn’t always visible, but our actions are. Our words can be heard, and they affect everyone around us.
"Let all bitterness . . . be put away from you. . . Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you." Ephesians 4:31-32
We noticed the unevenness and wobble in our path, but we chose to live with it longer than we should have. It was a busy summer, and what was happening beneath the surface was not something we had time to tackle, By the time we finally acted, the damage had spread way beyond a loose brick. What could have been a small repair job, now required a chainsaw, hours of labor, and a complete reset of the walkway. That’s what Hebrews 12:15 is warning us about when it says “see to it” that no root of bitterness grows. Being watchful of the things that might pop up matters. We have to choose God’s grace. When we ignore those subtle heart wobbles, the sharp words, the withheld forgiveness, the distracted worship—we allow bitterness to grow unchecked.
Forgiveness is the tool God gives us to help us dig deep and cut away what doesn’t belong. It’s not always easy, but it is necessary. When bitterness is uprooted, something beautiful happens: our words soften, our worship becomes focused on Him again, and our joy returns. Our circumstances don’t magically change, but grace reclaims the ground of our heart. What once disrupted and defiled can be restored when we surrender fully to God’s care.
Where have your words or worship felt uneven lately? What might God need to uproot beneath the surface?