Bitterness can destroy our relationships, our families, and ourselves. Veral Blake, the AFCI National Director for St. Vincent and the Grenadines, recently shared four steps on How to Go From Bitter to Better.

Veral has an influential ministry throughout the Caribbean. His radio ministry has been a key tool in communicating the Gospel throughout the region for over 40 years. Many people have grown up hearing Veral’s voice every weekday morning as they listen to his daily devotions or hear him preach in church or at special events across the islands.

On Sunday, March 22, 2026, Veral spoke in the morning service at Highpoint Church in Kingstown, St. Vincent. Using Hebrews 12:14-15 as the basis for his message, Veral shared how God wants us to bring to Him the experiences in our lives that make us bitter so that, “He can sweeten them and make us more holy and good. Rather than being bitter, God wants to make us better.”

Looking at the lives of Naomi and Joseph, Veral shared how God uses difficult circumstances to change our perspective and make us more like Jesus, and then shared a series of steps to overcome bitterness.

Four Steps in Moving From Bitter to Better

  • Bring your wounds to God for healing
  • Trust the sovereignty of God
  • Extend God’s grace to others through forgiveness
  • Seek to show love towards your enemies

Veral said, “The aim is not just to survive the pain of our bitterness, but to conquer it. When we return grace and love, it may not change [the people who hurt us], but it will certainly change us. Offering grace and love will cost a lot, but withholding it will cost us even more … As we pray for those who have hurt us, God can heal our wounds and melt away the bitterness that we have been holding on to. God wants to help us move from being bitter to being better.”

Before speaking, Veral realized that he, himself, needed to follow his own advice and had to reconcile himself with a couple in his own community before he could stand in the pulpit. Many others in the congregation also immediately applied what they heard. As Veral said,

“There were lots of tears and confessions. A great move of the Holy Spirit. Some persons related that they were excited to get home to call their mom and dad, siblings, neighbors, or husband and wife to make reconciliation. Afterwards, there was an atmosphere of great freedom in the building.”

May we all allow God to move us from bitter to better.

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