With a Subtitle: Ask God to enable you to reconcile the emotions that are restless within you. Make right the hurting given or received, and experience the gospel alive in you today.

A brief Excerpt: Ask God to enable you to reconcile the emotions that are restless within you. Make right the hurting given or received, and experience the gospel alive in you today.

The Author is: Rich Holt

Scripture

Our verse for today comes from Genesis 21:9, “And Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, whom she had borne to Abraham, scoffing.”

Background

There was tremendous heartbreak in our home this week. One of our children was deeply wounded. But as you might expect, the pain was not inflicted by a moving vehicle or a sudden stop after a long fall. Nor did the hurt come from losing a pet or the moving away of a dear friend. It came through the words of a sibling. Most of us have siblings, have kids that have siblings, or at least have been around siblings, so this type of treatment should not come as any great shock. But this child was hurt deeply. Deeply. They had experienced scoffing in front of their peers, hurtful words meant to embarrass and belittle. And the words worked. And when the victim asked the offender to stop, the response was more of the same. So with eyes already welling up, they got up from the table and left the room, humiliated and broken. The words had worked. Victory was complete. Scoffer one, scoffed zero.

Application

Later that night, when we talked about what had happened, when the pain was finally expressed, the words came out broken and disjointed amidst the uncontrollable sobbing. Even catching their breath was difficult for a bit. But as they described their agony, the offender heard what they had done as seen through the eyes of the offended. And those words worked, too. The child who earlier had so carelessly yet skillfully spewed out poison on their sibling now heard the effects of their ridicule. And they were moved to sorrow and contrition. The uneasiness of knowing they had done something out of line was replaced by the sincere realization that they had wounded a family member. Their love for another won out over the laughs of their peers. The friendship that had been damaged was worth being restored. And so, forgiveness was sought, and forgiveness was granted. And the next day, as they hugged and joked and laughed with each other, my heart abounded with glee to see the gospel of my Savior displayed before my very eyes.

Charge

As we seek Him today, ask God to enable you to reconcile the emotions that are restless within you. Make right the hurting given or received, and experience the gospel alive in you today.

Salvation – Eternal Life in Less Than 150 Words