Breaking the Cycle of Bitterness: Choosing Healing, Legacy, and Freedom in Christ
About this episode
Bishop Paul Zink, founder of a premier Jacksonville church and the acclaimed Providence School, joins Philip Cameron for a conversation that cuts straight to the heart of spiritual and emotional freedom. Together they unpack why bitterness, regret, and unforgiveness act as parasites on the soul — and why breaking free is not passive but a deliberate, daily choice. Bishop Zink opens with a striking declaration: "Depressed and fearful people never create a positive outcome." From there, the conversation moves through the power of thought life as prophecy, the danger of picking at old wounds, and the liberating truth that "legacy is more powerful than DNA." Philip illustrates bitterness with a vivid nature analogy — wildebeest on the Serengeti Plains, circling helplessly after a brain parasite robs them of direction — while hyenas and lions wait at the edges. It is a picture of what unresolved bitterness does to a believer's forward momentum. Drawing on the call of Philippians to forget what lies behind and press toward the high calling, both men urge viewers to choose forgiveness, release regret, and refuse to let past wounds define their future. If you are stuck in a cycle of bitterness or fear, this episode offers a practical, faith-filled path to healing and freedom in Christ.
Part of our Bitterness collection of conversations.
Quotes worth sharing
“Depressed and fearful people never create a positive outcome.”
“Legacy is more powerful than DNA. You have a brother who was adopted in your family. You have a son who's adopted in your family. It's not about their DNA. It's the legacy that they inherited. That is the truth. It makes the difference.”
“What bitterness is, is a parasite that gets into your spirit, that makes you stuck in a circle of bitterness and a circle of regret and a circle of fears. And if the devil can get you there, he'll stop you going to your next level.”
What's Discussed
Bishop Paul Zink, founder of a landmark Jacksonville, Florida church and Providence School, joins Philip Cameron to address the spiritual paralysis caused by bitterness, regret, and unforgiveness. Zink asserts that 'depressed and fearful people never create a positive outcome,' framing thought life as prophetic — words spoken over oneself become the future yet to come. Philip illustrates bitterness as a brain parasite using the wildebeest migration on the Serengeti, where afflicted animals circle helplessly while predators wait. Both men emphasize that scars — not open wounds — define a person, that 'legacy is more powerful than DNA,' and that healing requires an active, chosen act of forgiveness rooted in Philippians 3.
- Depressed and Fearful People Produce No Positive Outcome
- Thought Life as Prophecy Over Your Future
- Wounds That Stink — Scars vs. Open Sores
- Legacy Is More Powerful Than DNA
- Regret and Unforgiveness as Soul Cancer
- Wildebeest Parable — Bitterness as a Brain Parasite
- Choosing to Forgive and Press Forward
Scripture in this episode
Episode Transcript
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Intro
Philip:Hey, welcome to Daily Faith. My name is Philip Cameron, and I am absolutely delighted you have dropped by to share a minute with us. Our program is here for you. We are partners with you in your daily walk with the Lord Jesus. And this program started a number of years ago to help pastors, to stand with pastors during the COVID debacle that we had in this country. What is that? Nuts. They got us to close down our churches. How insane is that? I hope to God that never, ever is allowed to happen again. They could keep Walmarts open and pubs open, but not the church.
Philip:Let me tell you something, the devil doesn't fear the pubs. The devil doesn't fear the armies of this world. The one thing the devil fears is the Church of the Living God. And if he can do anything to distract us and destroy us and to slow us down. And what God's been dealing with me most recently is that he doesn't have to defeat you, he just has to distract you. I've got a wee granddaughter, Annabelle. And what we do is, if we want her to do something, all we do is distract her.
Philip:A few minutes ago, she was in here sitting on my lap, and she was crying because she wanted to see her mommy. And she saw me on the screen, and I grabbed her wrist and I started flapping her wrist. And she forgot about the tears because she was laughing at her hand being flapped around. It was a distraction. And what the devil wants to do in your life today, he wants to distract you, to get you all flustered over something here or something over there, and take your focus off why God's ordained you and called you to be who you are. And we're not going to fall for his ploy.
Philip:We are keeping our hearts fixed and set on the Lord Jesus. I'm not preaching. I've got a friend with me today. You're gonna love this man. I listen — of all the years I've been in America, I've been preaching now since 1969. I came to America 56 years ago, I've been doing what I'm doing. And if you were to say to me, give me the top three people in your life that have loved you and who you respect, this man would be one of the first names I would speak out and talk to, because he's just a great friend of mine.
Philip:35 years ago, my dad called me. I was in America, he was in Scotland. I had no idea that this phone call would change my life. Sometimes a phone call changes your life. And he talked to me about orphans in Romania. And I said, look, I said, that's not my problem. That's not my — I've got no interest in that whatsoever. And he kept calling me, and he was recovered from cancer surgery. And after a week of being abused by my father on the phone, he said to me, well, if you won't go, I'll go by myself. And if I die on the way, it's your fault. And that's how I ended up in Romania.
Philip:I walked into this room, salon number five, in an orphanage in Romania, and saw wee faces looking at me. There were 30-odd kids in the room. And this wee boy was looking at me. And the Holy Spirit said, that's your son. I had no idea that God had taken that moment to change my future. I went into the room and picked this little boy up, naked from the waist down, covered in his own waste, his head covered with pus. He didn't speak English, and I didn't speak Romanian. And I said to him, I don't know who you are, but I promise I will never stop until I adopt you. And that was 35 years ago. And that fateful day set me on a journey that has kept me going and kept me focused and kept me pulling towards the victory.
Philip:For 35 years since then, we have rescued hundreds and hundreds of kids. We have fed thousands. We have given hope to countless hearts that had nothing and no hope to live for. And recently — think of this — we have churches coming to Moldova all the time, and they stay and work and minister with our kids. These young folk come to us. We have a village of homes in a place called Kch. Now, the name of the village is called Vara Village. It's the most beautiful place you've ever seen in your life. It's right on the largest lake in the whole of Moldova.
Philip:And we bought the houses — they had poisoned that lake with chlorine to kill algae, and the building project had come to a halt and had never been used. We bought these houses in one of the darkest days of my life. I stepped out of the boat and I said, God, you can make this miracle happen. And he sure has. And each of the houses — we've just taken in 25 more girls, and they come to us from school, from orphanages and desperate situations. And we put them back in school and tell them, if you are born, God has a plan. And these kids have come from being orphans to sons and daughters, and now are missionaries.
Philip:And they work all through the summertime, doing hundreds — reaching hundreds and hundreds of kids in camps. And then through the wintertime, starting now, they feed — they adopt villages and feed widows and bring wood to the village homes. And by doing so, we are keeping families alive through winters that can be as low as minus 30 degrees. And orphans' hands are reaching out to those in need. And this church just came to be with us from Shreveport, Louisiana. The pastor said it completely changed their church's lives. And they caught some video of them going out.
Philip:My daughter Melvin's there, her husband Gary's there. They led the team and they went out into the highways and byways and brought hope and health and healing to broken homes. Watch this.
Philip:It is amazing what a few kids can do when God has their heart in his hand. And our wonderful kids go out constantly. They go to school, of course, but each of the homes in the village adopts a village. So what happens is they get to know every person in that village that they've adopted — every widow, every broken home, every sick person. And they literally redeem them by loving them and caring for them and providing. And by the orphan's hands giving out, I've discovered that the orphan's heart can be healed. The quickest way to destroy an orphan spirit in you — I know lots of folk in America who live in the greatest country in the world, but they still have orphan spirits — the quickest way to defeat and destroy an orphan spirit is by giving.
Philip:And we need your help in what we do in Moldova. Everything you see — all the homes, all the vehicles that are continually working, the school costs, everything — these kids come to us with a small bag, sometimes with no bag, with a few clothes. And we are responsible for them for everything they have in their world. And it's all been done by someone giving $1 a day. You can change a life for a dollar a day.
Philip:One of the greatest bargains I've ever seen in my life is you giving in your home. $1 a day will allow me to go and reach someone that has no hope on earth. Right now, we're about to open two new homes to take kids in that are under 16. Vara Village is for kids 16 and over. A young girl was sent to us by a village that we had been in — a horrendous family circumstance. We took her in and she was only 14. And when they found out she was only 14, we had to send her back.
Philip:One of her leaders, Nadia, drove her back to the village. And this little girl called Maria was gang raped within a week of going back to the village. And Nadia called me, she said, I will never do that again. I will never drive someone back to destruction. The little girl ended up in a mental home. And we've been looking, and we've found two houses — a most amazing place that will hold 50 more little kids between the age of four and 16.
Philip:So we'll be able to care for kids from four all the way through to 16. When they get to Vara Village, we put them in university, and instead of having a lifetime of destruction and hell poured upon them — abuse from alcoholic fathers — I can't even tell you the stories that I know of these kids. A dollar a day rescues them from hell. And if you could help us, we need 300 new sponsors to help us open these new homes.
Philip:And if you'd like to help us, you can contact me — just the Orphan's Hands, PO Box 25, Clinton, Tennessee, 37716. And you can also go to DailyFaith.tv. There's a giving page there, and just say it's for the kids. If you'd like to help us with a one-time gift towards finishing these two new houses that we've bought — one is finished but needs repainting and refurnishing, and the second one is about 85% complete. And there's a great big barn. This is what excites me apart from the homes.
Philip:I'm really excited about this barn. It's gonna allow us to have a camp that we can have youth camps all through the summertime. It's gonna be amazing. I just need someone like you to have this vision with us and believe God. So you can contact us at DailyFaith.tv. Whatever you designate your gift, that's where it's gonna go. And you can also find out more at OrphansHands. And we have an 800 number — 833-DAILY-FAITH. Just dial 833-DAILY-FAITH on your phone and a real live person will pick up that phone, and you can make a difference in someone's life.
Philip:Today, I'm delighted to have with me a dear friend. It's like family. In fact, to call him a friend seems to diminish my love and care for this dear friend of mine. And Bishop Zink started a great church in Jacksonville many, many years ago — one of the premier churches in all of Florida. And then he came up with this amazing vision, New Life, where they started a school called Providence. What a great name. And it's one of the greatest schools in America, all from the vision and the purpose of this man's mind. Bishop, I'm so glad to have you with me today on Daily Faith. God bless you.
Depressed and Fearful People Produce No Positive Outcome
Paul Zink:Thank you. It's good to be with you, Philip. It always is. And to sit and talk with you is like reminiscing history and living the future. So I just love being with you.
Philip:Well, the Bible says that iron sharpens iron. And whenever I see the scope of what you've managed to do in the outreach and these kids that you are reaching through Providence, it's just mind blowing. And I get inspired and challenged when I watch you. And I hope that what we do in our little way does the same thing for you, that we can instigate faith in each other to reach beyond where we are right now.
Paul Zink:I pray that as many ministers as possibly can listen to your program, because you bring fresh light and faith into people because of what you've accomplished with some of the greatest obstacles the world has ever seen. What you face are tremendous obstacles, and yet you never, never back away from them. And that's what we need today.
Paul Zink:I tell you, Philip, the Lord gave me a thought the other day, and that is: depressed and fearful people never create a positive outcome.
Philip:Boy, that is the truth. Say that again.
Paul Zink:Depressed and fearful people never create a positive outcome.
Philip:Boy, that is true. Never. As you said that — I can think of dozens of people that every time you meet them, everything you listen to them, it's nothing but negativity. And they just grind your energy and it dissipates.
Paul Zink:Oh my goodness, that is so true. Well, it is true. And that's why you have to be careful what you open your mind and thoughts to, because you're opening yourself up to really failure. You can't be depressed and fearful and create anything positive. There's no positive outcome with depressed and fearful people, ever.
Thought Life as Prophecy Over Your Future
Paul Zink:And so it's important for us to grab hold of our thought life. Our thoughts — the words and thoughts we have are prophecies for your life yet to come. And so what you speak over yourself, what you speak over your family, those are prophecies for your life that is yet to come.
Philip:Yes. And that's why you've got to have people who speak life and faith and victory and belief — basically the word of God.
Paul Zink:Yes. And because what they're creating is the outcome of their life, and it's just their prophecies yet to be fulfilled. So we move on with that.
Wounds That Stink — Scars vs. Open Sores
Philip:One of the gifts I believe God's given me in my circumstance in life, as I've gone through my journey in life, is I've got a bad memory for things that have hurt me. If you can let hurt go, if you can let disappointment go, you are halfway to your next step of victory. Because bitterness and all of those poisons that come from all of those kinds of negative thoughts — what it does is it weighs you down as you progress to your next. So if you keep allowing bitterness to load you down, eventually you'll be immobilized by what someone said 10 years ago and what someone said five years ago.
Philip:But we've got to offload these things that so easily beset us and press on past the hurts and past the disappointments and past all those things. You know, there's a scripture — I'll have to look it up, but people can look it up — it says, your wounds stink.
Paul Zink:Wow. Your wounds stink. It's like scabs that you keep picking. And they get pus and infection and poison. You gotta let your wounds heal. Your scars are what really define you, because scars are wounds that have been healed.
Philip:Yes, sir. Well, that's tremendous. I haven't worked at this thing, but I've met folk that have hurt me in the past and I've met them again, and all of the angst is gone. And when you do that, you liberate your own heart. And I don't know why the Lord's taking us down this path right now, but I believe that someone's watching us. Maybe you're a pastor, maybe you're just living in a family and the family has cut you to the bone, and the devil is trying to keep you picking the scab, trying to refresh it.
Philip:And let me tell you something, a scab that's picked is open for poison. And the devil is right there. He's the accuser of the brethren. And he'll come in and he'll do all kinds of stuff to hurt you and cause you pain. But my grandkids — Elizabeth — there's that cartoon thing, and there's a song, Let It Go, Let It Go. God wants you to know today that if you'll let it go, he will heal and restore and give you back what the locusts have eaten in your life.
Philip:Not only that, but when you're depressed and fearful and angry and bitter, nobody wants to be around you.
Legacy Is More Powerful Than DNA
Paul Zink:That's true. Who wants to hang around that? You're not an attraction. You detour people from what they're wanting. You're just trying to get sympathy, and sympathy doesn't create anything.
Philip:Nothing at all.
Paul Zink:You know, Philip, your life and what you've done with these kids in countries that are impossible to minister in is a legacy. And legacy is more powerful than DNA, there's no question about it.
Philip:Whoa. Say that again.
Paul Zink:Legacy is more powerful than DNA.
Philip:That is deep. That is so true.
Paul Zink:You know, you have a brother who was adopted in your family. You have a son who's adopted in your family. It's not about their DNA. It's the legacy that they inherited. That is the truth. It makes the difference.
Philip:That is exactly — I really feel the Lord has you with us today because there are people watching that have been bruised by their DNA. The enemies of your own house are the ones that can hurt you the deepest and the quickest. You need to get rid of the pain and forgive and forget if you can. Whatever's happened, it's not worth selling your future for the past. It's not worth it. Your future is bigger in God.
Paul Zink:Learn from the past, never forget the experience, but don't let it be a weight on you. And regret is the cancer of the soul. There are things that cause your soul to be filled with cancer. Regret is one of those. Unforgiveness is one of those. Bitterness is certainly one of those. And if you don't let those go, your soul is gonna be filled with cancer. And your body's gonna follow what your soul becomes.
Regret and Unforgiveness as Soul Cancer
Philip:That is true. And your ministry, your life, your family — everything, all these things have to be let go of.
Paul Zink:And it's not easy. We talk as if, just let go. Well, it's more than that. It is a war. But you can choose. You can choose to forgive. You can choose to let go of those things.
Philip:The scripture verse — choose this day whom he will serve. Now that, in the original reason and purpose of it, was of course serving the Lord. But you can serve past hurts. You can be tied down and restricted and restrained by what was said to you in the past. Most people hurt other people and don't know they've done it. And something can be said casually, and the devil can take that and amplify that and stab you in the heart.
Philip:And you gotta choose today. And man, this is really strange because this is not what we planned to speak about. But I'm telling you now, someone is watching us and you have an unforgiveness in your heart, and the devil is using it to rob you of your future. Rob you of future relationships, rob you of future blessings in your life. Because what he's doing is he's making you spin back to the same thing.
Philip:I watched a show one time on the wildebeest. Amazing. An amazing program. It captured the year of the journey of the wildebeest. And crocodiles ate them. They starved. I was exhausted watching these wildebeests. And finally they get to the Serengeti plains, and for miles there's nothing but green lush grass. And there are all the wildebeests, and they're all ripped, fat, fed, fabulous.
Wildebeest Parable — Bitterness as a Brain Parasite
Philip:And as David Attenborough — the great guy that does these nature films — he's talking, and he says, as you're watching this blissful scene, suddenly the whole herd starts moving away and they start leaving behind these great big monstrous muscle-fed wildebeests. And they're walking in circles. And he says, at this point they're at their greatest risk, because in the grass there is a parasite that goes up their nostril and into their brain and robs them of direction.
Philip:And as he's saying this, a million wildebeests move away. And you've got these great big animals, the males, going in circles, nowhere to go, stopping and looking at the herd and shaking their heads, and then going right back to walking in a circle. And just outside the circle, hyenas were lying and lions were lying, waiting for them to starve and fall down. And what bitterness is, is a parasite that gets into your spirit, that makes you stuck in a circle of bitterness and a circle of regret and a circle of fears. And if the devil can get you there, he'll stop you going to your next level.
Paul Zink:It's so good, Philip.
Philip:Yeah. We can learn a lot of stuff just by observation of nature.
Paul Zink:Absolutely. Absolutely. And you know, it's a sad thing though that we don't learn. We allow emotions, we allow negative memories to seal in our soul. And we'll repeat the same mistakes over and over and over again and blame everybody in the world but us.
Paul Zink:When God is telling us the way — you look at what happened to Corrie ten Boom and what she could have taken a totally different direction. So true. But she chose to move ahead and love and carry on. What was the legacy? The legacy is now being carried on by literally millions of youth across the world. It has multiplied because she wouldn't let the hurt define her future.
Choosing to Forgive and Press Forward
Philip:And this today has been an unusual program, but I really feel the Holy Ghost has used you to focus this on: forget the things which are behind and press on towards the mark of the high calling. Don't allow your family to be the one that stabs you in the back. God has got a purpose for you bigger than that.
Paul Zink:It's true, Philip. Very true.
Philip:I love you being with us. Every time you speak to me, it's like being with my dad. I love it. Thank you so much. You're a big man. Thank you for being with us today on Daily Faith. Thank you for watching. Time's gone. We love you. We'll see you again. Bye-bye.
For over 25 years, the Cameron family has been changing the lives of orphans in Romania and Moldova — from providing running water, flushing toilets, and clean wells, to coal for heat, new windows, as well as food and clothing. They champion the physical needs of the orphans in these broken and desolate countries. Many of Moldova's orphans are saved from the horrors of trafficking through homes founded by the Camerons. And in the process, orphans become daughters and sons. They come to know their heavenly Father and are forever changed by the love of Jesus.
God helped the Camerons lift these amazing young men and women out of darkness, now no longer orphans. They want to return and invade that very same darkness with the light of Jesus Christ. The Orphan's Hands equips these daughters and sons to become missionaries. Your monthly gift of $31 will allow us to rescue and take in more girls and boys, saving them from the hell of human trafficking. Your monthly partnership will allow us to care for those in the Orphan's Hands homes in Moldova and the Ukraine. If you want to join Philip and Chrissy in taking care of these precious young people, please contact us today by calling 833-DAILY-FAITH. You can also give by going online to www.DailyFaith.tv or by writing to Post Office Box 25, Clinton, Tennessee, 37716. So many lives depend on what we do. Thank you for loving the lost.
Common questions
What does Paul Zink mean when he says 'legacy is more powerful than DNA'?
Zink argues that the inherited legacy — the values, love, and purpose passed on to someone — matters more than biological origin. He pointed to Philip's adopted brother and son as examples: it's not their DNA that defines them, but the legacy they received that makes the real difference in their lives.
Why do depressed and fearful people never create a positive outcome?
Zink's view is that you simply cannot generate anything positive from a place of depression and fear — there is no positive outcome, ever. He connects this to the power of thoughts and words, saying that what you speak over yourself and your family acts as a prophecy for your life yet to come, so a negative mindset sets a negative trajectory.
How does bitterness actually hold you back spiritually and practically?
Zink describes regret, unforgiveness, and bitterness as 'cancers of the soul,' warning that if you don't release them, your soul fills with that poison and your body follows. Philip adds the vivid image of wildebeests circling in a parasite-induced daze — bitterness works the same way, trapping you in a loop and stopping you from reaching your next level, while predators wait on the outside.
Can you actually choose to forgive, or does it just happen on its own?
Zink is clear that letting go is not easy — 'it is a war' — but he insists that forgiveness is ultimately a choice you can make. He frames it similarly to the biblical call to 'choose this day whom you will serve': you can choose to serve past hurts, or you can choose to release them and move forward.
What does Corrie ten Boom have to do with breaking the cycle of bitterness?
Zink holds her up as a real-world example of someone who had every reason to let hurt define her future but chose not to. Because she refused to let her suffering become her identity, her legacy has multiplied and is now carried on by millions of young people around the world — proof, in Zink's view, that choosing healing over bitterness creates an impact far beyond what bitterness ever could.
Topics
paul zinkbitternessunforgivenesslegacyemotional healingthought lifeforgiveness