In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one.
You can extinguish this flaming dart, but how?
Third, understand that it can only be quenched by the shield of faith.
This flaming dart of bitterness cannot be quenched by:
• trying to stop feeling bitter,
• looking on the bright side, or
• taking a deep breath and counting to 10.
None of those will quench the flaming dart, because none of those involve faith. The only way to quench Satan’s darts is with the shield of faith—faith in Christ.
So how do you pick up that shield and use it?
Fourth, turn to Jesus Christ.
The shield is a shield of faith, and faith means trusting all that God has promised to be for us in Jesus Christ. So, turn your heart to Jesus Christ.
You don’t need to get rid of your bitterness first. Because of Jesus’ death on the cross, you can turn to him as you are, confessing your sin and asking him to forgive you for your bitterness. And he will.
Then ask him to help you use the shield of faith to extinguish this flaming dart of bitterness.
Fifth, find promises that counter the flaming dart.
Faith means trusting all that God promises to be for us in Christ. So it’s crucial to find promises in God’s word—specific, blood-bought promises—which counter the flaming dart.
So what promise would help with bitterness over what someone did to you, or said about you? I have found Genesis 50:20 helpful, because this is what Joseph said to his brothers after they had sold him into slavery:
