Press the arrow to listen to Rebecca St. James sing “Forgive Me”.

Scripture
But the king gave this order: “Absalom may go to his own house, but he must never come into my presence.” 2 Samuel 14:24

Observation
Just as lightning will search for a ground to discharge its energy, so too every brewing storm of personal relationship searches for resolution. The pent up static electricity of human conflict will eventually discharge. Our choice is not if it will but where it will. Will there be a lightning strike with loss of life and property or will there be a lightning rod to safely divert the energy to a safe grounding?

King David learned to live with unresolved relationship conflict. As a result, the brewing clouds built up their charge of ions. When his son raped his sister, David did nothing. When another brother murdered the guilty one, David did nothing. When Absalom worked the crowding in the waiting room, David did nothing. David lost his throne, his wives and his son because he tried to be comfortable with uncomfortable relationships.

Closure in relationships is the choice to sit face to face with people who make us feel uncomfortable and to fix issues. There may be reconciliation or there may not be. What we can be certain of, the electrical charge of conflict will safely discharge. But left unaddressed, relationship conflict will only build into something destructive.

Application
It is easier to look the other way than to look eye to eye and to bring closure. But the choice to have healthy families and organizations is the decision to close one season so we can move on into the next one.

Prayer
Father, help me today not to avoid that which needs to close. Help me to deal with the intray of relationships. Amen.