Letting God Work
by Wesley English

I walked in the door and my father started yelling at me. Confused as to why, I stood there without talking back. When he finished, I said “ok” and left. Alone in my room I couldn’t figure out why he had been so harsh on me. My father rarely yelled and I hadn’t done anything wrong.

Near tears, I planned to avoid him as much as I could. I didn’t want to be needlessly yelled at again.

The next day, I felt God leading me to go and talk to my father. I remembered how Paul wrote, “In your anger, do not sin: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold” (Ephesians 4:26-27 NIV).

But I didn’t go to him. I refused to give up my fear to God and to put my trust in Him. Instead, I took the situation in my own hands; I avoided my father and my hurt remained.

After a few days of successfully avoiding him, I was forced to see him to take care of some business. We talked pleasantly, but I still resented the other day. Because he showed no remorse, I feared he’d do it again.

We finished and I started to leave. He asked me to shut the door. My father then apologized for taking his stress out on me. He said wronging me had been nagging at him the past few days.

If I would have obeyed God and come to him immediately, I would have been reconciled sooner. I would have lived the past days without fear. I needed to step back and let God work.