Is Your Heart A Flanders Fields? … Hello Hump Day readers. I’m sure you are wondering what a Flanders Field has something to do with a devotion but it’s spot-on. Why? Because in our society today it seems like folks just can’t find a way to be kind, to care, to help others, and make a difference. But many folks slap-back saying, “I need to take care of myself, the rest can find their own way.” How sad. So, let’s go to Belgium for a truly eye-opening bitterness deadly problem…

World War I: Intense Fighting from 1914 to 1918, the area around Ypres became a key battleground on the Western Front, characterized by trench warfare, mud, artillery barrages and chemical warfare: The 2nd Battle of Ypres in 1915 saw the first large-scale use of chlorine gas by the Germans. It created horrific conditions. The 3rd Battle of Ypres—a major offensive in 1917—infamous for its immense casualties and devastating muddy terrain, where soldiers and equipment often drowned or were killed with chlorine gas.

Today: Underneath the ground of Belgium’s Flanders Fields, one of the deadliest battlefields of World War I, has very dangerous and deadly secret lies—so deadly, it caused a big problem for the Belgian government. Why? All across this field, artillery shells are surfacing more than 90 years after they were fired. Still unexploded, many are still very capable of killing. Some are unearthed by farmers and construction workers, while others simply work their way up through the soil. Dozens of full-time workers cannot keep up with them. And even worse, thousands of these projectiles contain poisonous gas and people are still dying because of it.

It’s one thing to recognize something that can cause immense damage when it’s obvious. I’m sure you didn’t have to tell the soldiers fighting in World War I to avoid those artillery shells at all costs! However, when things such as these lie dormant for so long, they become all the more precarious because they are an unseen danger. And guess what, we, too live in unseen danger because we hold on to bitterness for years—even decades, before it finally comes up to the surface or is unearthed by a particular situation. And when that happens, it can often be damaging—even deadly, for relationships between friends and family.

Friends, we MUST HEED these words from Hebrews 12:15 [TPT]: “Watch over each other to make sure that no one misses the revelation of God’s grace. And make sure no one lives with a root of bitterness sprouting within them which will only cause trouble and poison the hearts of many.”

How do you recognize bitterness in your heart? You may not think you don’t have bitterness, but listen to your family and friends who love you—they WILL tell you and you might not like it! In a society that has fallen into greed and anger, we can quickly fall in as well and that is a huge bombshell for our hearts! So, if you have any “unearthed” bitterness in your heart, be sure you deal with it by forgiving the person it concerns and even talking with them about it. Don’t be like many folks who say “I can do what I want to do” and then let buried feelings of contempt harm them to the grave. Remember that your relationships with friends and family are some of God’s greatest gifts!

We pray: “O God, reveal any of my ‘unearthed’ bitterness for those whom I have harmed, no matter how old it might be. Help me to forgive and bury that resentment. Help me to start over again with a heart filled with your joy, grace, and forgiveness, and keep me from digging up an old Flanders Field, AMEN.”