Unity in Relationships
Today is Day 2 of our Prayer & Fasting focus.
For most people, our lives are filled with relationships, and when two people are in relationship with each other, conflict is inevitable. The Bible has a lot to say about how to treat one another and to maintain unity in our relationships, even when conflict arises.
In Mark 3:25 it says, "If a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand." When we don't settle differences and address conflict, we end up walking around in pain. When those conflicts aren't dealt with, it ends in bitterness that results in unforgiveness, which can hold a grip on our souls.
The Bible tells us in Colossians 3 to examine our heart for any grievances, "to bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you." By remembering that God poured out his mercy on us when we didn't deserve it, we can extend the same mercy to others when they don't deserve it.
Three things we can do to see unity in our relationships is to:
**1. Pray for Broken Relationships**
If there are any strained or broken relationships in your life that need God's healing, maybe it is in your family, in your marriage, with your kids, people in the church, in the workplace, or from the past, spend some time today thinking and praying through your relationships.
**2. Search Your Own Heart**
Journal out, and pray through those hurts, see how the Lord may reveal things and uproot offenses you didn't know still had a hold on you.
**3. Confess Fault**
If any fault in the damaged relationship lies with you, first confess it to God, then begin to pray and seek God for how to best reach out and begin to restore the relationship.
By making a commitment to unity in our relationships, we believe that God can make each relationship better in the future than it was in the past. Let's be a church where having things in common is secondary to having Jesus in common, He is our "fit factor." Continue pressing into Him on this journey, we can't wait to hear what God is doing in your relationships and in your life!