Relationships are such an integral part of our human existence. It has the power to strengthen us or on the contrary it has the power to even break us!

Even in the famous Shakespearean novel, we read that Julius Caeser perished not because he was weak in strength but because of the betrayal of his best friend, Brutus! Such is the power of Relationships!

Last Wednesday we had our regular Bible Study at church and as is the norm, our junior pastor opened the Bible Study with a question.

“How many of you find it difficult to trust people?” The responses were mixed. Some said they ‘do’ find it difficult to trust people and few others said, they trust people a bit too much. But amidst all this, our senior pastor had a response, which was a simple answer, but I must confess, I’ve never seen ‘Relationships’ that way.

He said (to our junior pastor), “Bro Runck, I usually trust relationships through God. I say, Lord this seems like a bit difficult thing, but I trust this relationship through You.”

We all know that Christ is the bedrock of a union between man and wife. He is the solid foundation for our homes. But what was an eye opener to me that day, was that Christ is not the Bedrock of just ‘marriages’ but we can also choose to make Him the cornerstone through whom we approach ‘all’ relationships. When we approach every relationship through Christ, he blesses that relationship to be a fruitful one.

It’s not ‘our’ doing, but the Lords doing!

Let me expound.

The book of Esther is a beautiful one. Right in the middle of the book, there is a stressful event which is recorded. We don’t know the ‘Why’ behind it. But we read that the King had not summoned for the queen (Esther) for over a month. A situation where Queen Esther had maybe lost favor in the eyes of the King. Or perhaps a situation where things were just not right.

We have all been in that boat before. Relationships which were once going great, now no longer seems pleasant, but seems like some sort of a tension has creeped into it.

What Esther did, was exactly what my pastor described. Instead of trying to work out the relationship with her own hands, she decided to deal with it by getting on her knees.

What exactly Esther prayed is not recorded, but as much as she must have prayed for the deliverance of Israel, I firmly believe that she must have prayed for God to restore favor in the eyes of the King.

She knew favor in the eyes of man, begins with favor in the eyes of God!

And indeed God did! She found incredible favor that the King said that he would give her “even upto half the Kingdom”!

When we seek first His Kingdom and Christ THE King, everything else just follows.

Another scripture which I often think about is where the scriptures record,

“For even his own brothers did not believe in him.” John 7:5

Every time I read this scripture, I feel crushed. This scripture caught my attention about 3-4 years ago.

If we read that passage, we see a slight tension in sibling relationship, between Jesus and his brothers. It is natural and human to expect support from our closest family members when stepping out to do what God has called each of us to do. But most often, God’s people face hostility than support from their close quarters. This is what Jesus experienced here.

What this scripture tells me is that God saw the emotional wounds of His son Jesus and it mattered to the Father. If it didn’t matter, we would not be reading it in the scriptures. It is a sweet reminder to you and me that our deepest hurts and wounds are seen by God and they DO matter to Him.

Very often, when we get hurt, usually the tendency is to take matters into our own hands and somehow ‘fix’ it. And usually it turns into a disaster, than the relationship getting better. Wounds deepen and scars get darker.

To all of us who think that ‘we’ need to ‘do’ something… my Pastors response offers a world of wisdom. Trust in relationships ‘through’ Him. Trust it into the hands of your God. Be still and know that He is God! We don’t have to be God. Let God be God, and man be man…. all along trusting in His goodness and faithfulness!

We all can surely vouch for the fact that He will never let us down!

On a side note, although there was a point of time when Jesus’ brothers did not believe in him (John 7:5), we later on read that James (the Lords brother) became one of the apostles at the time of the first century church and many of our Lords brothers served God in ministry later on!

With relationships, patience I believe is Key. As we choose to be patient, trusting that God is working in hearts, He can turn even non-believers to apostles (James); average relationships to incredible relationships (Esther); and discord into Love (Joseph).

He’s a good, good Father! ❤️

Have a wonderful Month ahead!