Helen Keller said, “The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched — they must be felt with the heart.” I suspect you have experienced this profound reality in your own life. And nothing brings more joy to our hearts than to be close to those we love.
On the flip side, estrangement can be brutally gut-wrenching, whether it occurs in your family or in your relationship with God. Sadly, the feelings of closeness that once existed become a thing of the past.
But what if there was a way back? That is, a way to regain the love, warmth, and tender affection.
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If it is difficult for you to even imagine being reunited with an estranged family member or friend, just remember: “Nothing is impossible with God” (Luke 1:37). A woman who was reconciled to her husband said, “We are growing stronger together with every day that passes. We look forward to being together in a way that we have not felt in many years. I love my husband.”
Another couple who also experienced reconciliation stated, “When we got married, we had no healthy coping or relationship skills at all. The past four months have been like something from a dream.”
“He is becoming more open with his feelings and his thoughts. He tells me every single day that he loves me and wants to be with me for the rest of his life. He is making good financial decisions. He is becoming the leader in our home that I have wanted him to be.”
Behavioral changes, personal growth, forgiveness, and honesty are all part of the cure for estrangement. Believe it or not, the grace of God can literally change you into a new person.
So, are you willing to do your part to bring about reconciliation and peace? What practical steps are you willing to take to offer an olive branch to your spouse, or to an estranged family member or friend? Apart from honest and heartfelt communication, the relationship will remain broken. Swallowing your pride may be necessary for the fractured relationship to be mended. If so, are you willing to do it?
If you find yourself stuck in the past, then meditate daily upon this powerful directive and promise the Lord gave to His people in the Old Testament: “Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland” (Isaiah 43:18-19).
God would love to do a new thing for you! The streams of the Holy Spirit can replace your resentment and bitterness with peace. God will refresh and renew your soul if you will humble yourself and come to Christ with your anguish. “The Lord heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds” (Psalm 147:3).
If you are estranged from a loved one today, then reflect upon anything you may have done to intensify the estrangement. Own your sins, confess them to the Lord, and rely upon God for the courage and grace you need to apologize for any of your shortcomings in the relationship. The path to reconciliation involves genuine brokenness, fervent prayer, sincere contrition, and the willingness to forgive past hurts.
And if you have drifted away from the Lord in recent years, humility and repentance will light the way back home. But you will need to be completely open and honest with the Lord. Since He already knows all about what has interrupted your fellowship with Him, you might as well get real with God and talk to the Lord about your personal issues. Honesty with God goes a long way. After all, the Lord desires your heart more than anything else.
You may remember how the prodigal son became estranged from his father when he ran off with his share of the inheritance after foolishly fantasizing about engaging in wild living (see Luke 15:11-32). But when the young man’s unrestrained revelry and debauchery left his heart and his wallet completely drained, “he came to his senses” (v. 17) and headed home. “While he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him” (v. 20).
Likewise, those who choose to “come near to God” (James 4:8) find the Lord waiting with open arms. If you have been running from God, isn’t it time to come home?
If your earthly father failed to shower you with compassion, then it may be extremely difficult for you to trust God and accept the Father’s unconditional love. But if you step out in faith, you will not be disappointed!
Jesus said, “If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in Heaven give good gifts to those who ask Him!” (Matthew 7:11) Simply believe it and receive it!
And of course God’s greatest gift is expressed in these famous words from Jesus: “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him will not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). You can insert your name in place of “whoever” because Jesus endured the agony of the cross specifically for you!
No matter how far you may have drifted from God, you are invited to come home today. Jesus said, “There is more rejoicing in Heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent” (Luke 15:7). Will you come back to God in humility, repentance and faith?
The cross of Christ provides the way home. Thankfully, “God was reconciling the world to Himself in Christ, not counting men’s sins against them. And He has committed to us the message of reconciliation” (2 Corinthians 5:19).
Dan Delzell is the pastor of Redeemer Lutheran Church in Papillion, Nebraska.
