Have you ever had someone spin a situation to make them appear righteous and you the fool – It sounds like it could be right and looks pretty cool. I just heard that this happened to me, and it stings a bit but far less over time. Conflict happens, even in the church.

I was part of a church leadership mess many years ago. Here's what I learned: 1. It's our responsibility to do everything possible to own our sin. It doesn't matter if anyone else is owning their stuff or not, own yours. By God's grace, I did this, and it proved to be a real blessing in my life. God can sort through any mess and honor the single act of repentance. Be THAT person. 2. Aim to honor God with our response. Several men and I have a standing offer to reconcile a bad situation from those years. We have done everything possible to live at peace (Romans 12:18), and it will be God doing the final breaking before the healing begins. You need to do what a wise man told me years ago, "Keep your head down, your mouth shut and trust God to make this thing right."

But when injustice spins and dresses as a sheep, you simply can't lose your mind, or you'll miss God's blessing. People who are blessed by God trust him to do what appears impossible. Real dependence on God requires us to resist our natural instinct – our raw reflexes must be brought under control of the Holy Spirit.

It is truly amazing how God lets us stumble onto these betrayals – both large and small. It's like God plans for us to get splashed in the face with injustice just to see how we'll react and help us grow. I don't know what you face now or will face in the future, but I do know we need to resist our reflexes. I've witnessed the joy of allowing God room to work – and he's always working!

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