Podcasts · The Best of You

When You Try to Repair a Relationship—But They Won’t

· 9:19

Episode When You Try to Repair a Relationship—But They Won’t

0:00 9:19

Today's Scripture: Matthew 5:23-24 (Listener Request) What happens when you genuinely try to make things right—and the other person refuses to participate? Jesus takes reconciliation seriously, but that doesn’t mean you can force another person to acknowledge harm, tell the truth, or repair what has been broken.

You’ll learn:

*What Jesus’ command to “go and be reconciled” actually asks of you *The crucial difference between making a repair attempt and achieving mutual repair *Why reconciliation cannot be created by one person alone *How the pressure to “make peace” can sometimes protect denial or dysfunction *When faithfulness may mean grieving, setting a boundary, and stopping your pursuit of repair

Go Deeper: Episode 216: Forgiveness Without Self-Abandonment: How to Forgive Without Ignoring the Harm with Amy Orr-Ewing Episode 217: What to Do When You’re the Only One Trying: Leslie Vernick on Emotionally Destructive Relationships

Connect with Dr. Alison on Instagram: @dralisoncook

Join 80,000+ Soul Menders in Dr. Alison’s free email community for ongoing reflection and support.

While Dr. Cook is a counselor, the content of this podcast and any of the products provided by Dr. Cook are not specific counseling advice nor are they a substitute for individual counseling. The content and products provided on this podcast are for informational purposes only.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Links in the notes 5

Shows are listed from Apple Podcasts' charts and directory, and Podcast Index where it is used. Every show and episode belongs to its publisher and plays from the publisher's own feed; this site hosts none of them. Explicit shows are for adult profiles only, and children’s profiles hear only children’s shows. More about this list.