A Choked Out Life

I asked the Lord to show me a passage to post this morning, and He led me to Hebrews 12: 12 - 15.
There are many who at this time of year, are depressed and lonely; feeling like their life is being choked out by circumstances - and the Lord addresses this in this passage, and also tells us what might be the cause in some cases, for those who are feeling this way.
"Therefore, strengthen your feeble arms and your weak knees. Make level the paths for your feet, so that the lame may not be disabled, but rather healed. Make every effort to live at peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord. See to it that no one misses the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many".
Sometimes the things we face are brought on by our own choices that we've made, and when those choices end up differently than we'd planned, it can cause a spirit of unforgiveness to surround and overtake our lives, which leads to the root of bitterness.
The passage here tells us that this root of bitterness will bring on nothing but trouble and will affect every area of our lives, and every person we are connected with.
In order for us to live the life of joy that the Lord desires for us, we need to follow his direction and lay all our burdens, our sorrows and troubles at the foot of his cross. We can't turn back time or change the choices we've made that weren't the ones that God had planned for us, but we can go to Him and be delivered from the bondage of bitterness that those choices have brought upon us.
The way we face and handle the challenges in our lives is a witness to the world - do we want our witness to be that of Jesus and his grace, mercy and love, or is our witness one of sorrow, bitterness and therefore, disabling those who are searching?
I pray for those who feel like their life is spinning out of control and are entangled in a life that's being choked out by a root of bitterness. I pray for freedom and deliverance by our Lord Jesus.

Janelle