This week, we began a process of asking ourselves some searching questions, asking God to reveal any offensive way that may be in us. If we want a revival - a fresh outpouring of God's Spirit upon us, we must be willing to do the dirty work of dealing with that which is offensive to God in our lives. This may not be as easy as we first thought.
Our first week in this process has dealt specifically with our interactions with others, as well as out attitude towards them. Perhaps this week God uncovered things in you that you had not realized were there. I trust you took the time to confess and deal with that sin before the Lord. However, you may not be done just yet.
If the person/people who were at the receiving end of your sinful actions/thoughts are aware that you harbored such feelings against them, you need to be reconciled with them. Even if you never said anything to them, perhaps your attitude has come across as coldness towards them. Certainly they know you have been cold towards them. Will you also take the step to seek their forgiveness?
Just a couple of weeks ago, as I was going through this list in my prayer time, God convicted me of something very specific. I began to realize that there were a few people in my life that, if I saw them in public, there would be an awkward tension.
For one person, after much prayer, I realize that I had done nothing against them to cause the relational hardship. But with that, I realized that, while I feel I was kind to them, after going our separate ways, I held on to some bitterness for the pain they had caused me. I had to confess this bitterness to God. While I feel I did nothing wrong against this person, my response to what they did was sinful nonetheless.
In another case, God brought to mind a relationship that went sour a good 20 years ago. I realized that my attitude toward this person was not right and I knew that I had said/done things to offend them. I was able to reconnect with them and, in tears, wrote out an apology for what had happened. They responded very kindly and graciously. It was hard and humbling to do this, but I feel that God was glorified in what happened. Even if they had not responded with such grace, I still feel it was the right thing to do.
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