Confessing When at Odds

I had a sibling that I could not get along with as a child. This sibling and I were as enemies. I could not stand to even be in the same room with this person. By the time I became an adult I decided to put my childish ways away. I forgave my sibling before I even approached them and then I asked them to forgive me.

Today, I can’t even remember all the issues we had. I know we had discord but the details get more and more vague as time goes by.

As I think of my past I am reminded that once we were enemies of God and He forgave us before we came to Him with an apology. “For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life (Romans 5:10).

My sibling and I were at odds with each other because we did something against one another. We were both hurt and we were separated for many years. It was not until I whole-heartedly decided to be forgiving, before we were reunited with each other.

The Bible tells us that Jacob also separated himself from his brother when he hurt Esau. He ran to another town to get away from his brother because he knew he hurt his brother, after his dad did not bless him upon his death. It was not until Jacob decided he was going to be apologetic towards his actions, that he was embraced by his brother. Jacob was extremely sincere and brought gifts to his brother in hopes that he would understand (Genesis 32 and 33). God did not bless Jacob until he made things right between the two of them.

Are you at odds with your sibling? Have you been waiting for them to apologize to you for hurting you and you have not confessed your wrong doing? God does not teach us to forgive by receiving apologies first.

We must quickly confess, "In your anger do not sin. Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry" (Ephesians 4:26). What ever has caused you anger or hurt should not fester the next day, but should be put to rest before the sun goes down. This eliminates bitterness growing. It is not wise for us to wait to apologies for it will make it more difficult and time consuming for us to get rid of the agony. God has given us the time frame of one day to cool down and get over the matter, with a forgiving heart.

Consider evaluating your confessions. Ask God to help you forgive those that have hurt you. Pray to God to help you focus on Him and not your pain as He releases you from your agony. For God forgave us while we were yet still sinners, at odds with Him.