Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest. (Matthew 11:28)
Cast your cares on the LORD and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous fall. (Psalm 55:22)
“I could be very calm if I didn’t have to deal with all of these irritating people, especially my family!” Ever say that before? Because we live in a fallen world and each one of us has our own sin nature, when we get together there is going to be a rub. Put those multiple sin natures under the same roof and there will definitely be friction. Because your family is human, count on the fact that they are going to let you down or hurt you over time. How can you make things right? Take out the trash! Repent and confess! The only way to stop carrying the burden of those damaged relationships is to take them and give them to God. It is not about what they did to you. It is about how you have responded to them. What is your heart full of? Is it love, joy, and peace; or bitterness and anger? It is exhausting living with sin day after day. Anger and bitterness can leave you more fatigued than running a race.
God tells us when we are weary and burdened to come to Him and He will give us rest. He wants us to cast our cares on Him and let Him sustain us. How fast can that change take place? In the time it takes to pray a simple prayer of confession. After you have confessed you will find your heart softened toward the other person and you will want to make things right between the two of you. With a clean heart you will be able to go in gentleness and humility and restore the relationship. Don’t go until you have taken out the trash.
In the New Testament, Paul reminds us in Galatians 6:1, Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently. But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted.
Is there someone in your life with whom you are experiencing conflict? Maybe it’s a friend or a family member? Stop and pray right now. Ask God to show you the sin in your life. When He does, clean out your heart by confessing your sin to God. Then go to the other person and apologize for your part in the clash. Make your motive to please God not to make the other person apologize too. Casting your cares on God is between you and Him.