December 12, 2022 - Matthew 5:23-24

“So if you are presenting a sacrifice at the altar in the Temple and you suddenly remember that someone has something against you, leave your sacrifice there at the altar. Go and be reconciled to that person. Then come and offer your sacrifice to God.” Matthew 5:23-24 NLT

Lord, help us live out this verse. It isn’t just that we must make things right with people we have issues with, but also if someone has an issue with us. It doesn’t matter if we did something wrong or not. So even if we don’t think we did anything wrong, if someone seems to have an issue with us, it is still our responsibility to go and make it right. This should be done before we can come into your presence offering our sacrifice/our worship. Lord, to do this we need your wisdom to know how to diffuse the situation and bring peace without creating a bigger issue. Help us to be able to approach the person from a place of peace without getting defensive or angry. Help us to be humble and have an open heart to see where we have been in the wrong. Maybe we really haven’t done what they are accusing us of, but if there is any little thing where we could have been in the wrong, help us to be quick to apologize for that. If it is truly a matter of right and wrong, and we don’t feel we are in the wrong, help us navigate this. But if it is a matter of preference and learning to compromise or surrender our desires, help us be willing to find the middle ground or to yield. Holy Spirit, we ask for your leadership and guidance through this whole process, especially if the other party is particularly uncooperative.

Lord, we also ask for your wisdom and guidance as to when we have truly done all that we can to make things right. We want to pray and leave it in your hands. Show us how to keep a tender and forgiving heart, as well as how to move forward.

In Jesus name, amen.