Family Focus
WHEN GOD SPEAKS PEACE Ruth Stenerson
For he will speak to his people…..to those who turn to him in their hearts. Psalm 85:8b (NRSV)
Most of us remember times when we were angry with someone else—or when they were angry with us. In such moments it seems that anything we try to say only makes the situation worse. It’s that way in a family, among neighbors, between nations. As long as there’s anger, there’s not much hope for communication.
Things were like that between God’s people and God. They had gotten careless, sinful, and perhaps even rebellious. God punished them. “Are you going to be angry forever?” the psalmist asked God. And, in the verse we just read, the psalmist has the answer.
God isn’t going to stay angry. “He will speak peace to his people… to those who turn to him in their hearts.” In the human family, forgiveness most often comes face-to-face. The runaway returns—or is found by a searching parent. People who have been ignoring one another see one another again— and speak peaceably. And when God opens the way back to those who turn to him, “He will seek peace.” What are we waiting for?