Enemies of the Heart: Breaking Free from the Four Emotions That Control You by Andy Stanley

Author:Andy Stanley [Stanley, Andy]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781601421814
Publisher: The Doubleday Religious Publishing Group
Published: 2011-06-21T07:00:00+00:00

Turn It Around

If you really want to understand the power of confession, turn it around—put yourself on the receiving end. Think for a moment, whose apology do you most desire and least expect? Who is it that seems completely insensitive to the trouble or hurt they caused you? Imagine how you would feel if you got a surprise visit from that person. How would you feel if that individual walked in, sat down, and took full responsibility for what he or she had done? Imagine what might transpire in your heart if, with sincere humility, that person offered to do anything within his or her power to make restitution for what had been taken from you.

My guess is, you would never be the same. It would be almost impossible for you to resist the changes that would begin to take place in your heart. That’s the power of confession. Not only does it have the potential to free you from your guilt, but it may also be the path to forgiveness for those you’ve hurt. Indeed, your words may bring healing to a wounded soul.

Perhaps the greatest consequence of our unwillingness to own up to our responsibility is that it fuels the fires of bitterness and anger in someone else’s life. For many who have been hurt and whose souls are filled with self-destructive fury, a simple confession could set them free.

All they need to be released from the eroding forces of bitterness is for the offending party to come and make it right, to say, “I know I could never repay you fully. I know I can’t make this go away, but I’m here to let you know that I’m responsible and I’m sorry. And I’m willing to do whatever it takes to make it up to you.”

For someone out there, you hold the last piece of a puzzle he or she has been attempting to complete for a long time. Owning up to your responsibility may be the thing that allows this man or woman to move on with life. Simply confessing to God doesn’t accomplish that. And confessing to God won’t set your heart free from the guilt that’s slowly eating away at your character and conscience.

God’s forgiveness doesn’t exempt you from the responsibility for confession and restitution. On the contrary, his forgiveness is the very reason to confess. God paid a high price to reconcile you back to him, and now he’s calling on you to pay the price to reconcile yourself to others.

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