There is a cry for forgiveness and healing in a family torn asunder, and I tell you that the first step to the mending of these breaches is found in the forgiveness of God. Our Lord Jesus looked upon a man sick of the palsy and spoke to his deepest need: "Man, thy sins are forgiven thee." Before the healing of the body, He gave the healing of the soul. So must it be in your household. The misunderstandings, the financial stress, the depression and loss, these are the outward palsies, but the root is a heart that has forgotten its own need of mercy. There is forgiveness with God that He may be feared. It is a divine forgiveness: "I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake, and will not remember thy sins." Let every soul in that family hear it as for itself: "Man, thy sins are forgiven thee." Believe it and go your way in peace! When the heart knows it is forgiven, the wall of fear begins to crumble, for perfect love casteth out fear.
You speak of a wall about a heart, of anxiety and a fear of trusting again. This is a heart that has not yet fully rested in the keeping of Christ. "Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee." Peace, perfect peace, is not found in the absence of storm, but in the presence of Jesus. The blood of Jesus whispers peace within. When sorrows surge round, when loved ones seem estranged, this peace remains a present possession. But mark you, this peace comes not by feeling, but by trusting. The lepers were not healed first and then told to go; they were bidden to go and show themselves to the priest, and as they went they were cleansed. Trust Him before the joy comes. Trust Him while the heart feels dead and cold. Before long, if you trust Jesus, you shall know His love. Trust Him as you sink and you shall swim. Let those weary hearts cast themselves wholly upon Christ, not waiting for a sign, but acting on His authority, and they shall find that anxiety gives way to the deep calm of grace.
The family is God's own ordinance, and it is His delight to see it united in Him. The saints in heaven and earth are one family, not a broken family, nor two families, and so He would have your blended household reflect that heavenly unity. But this cannot be wrought by mere human love, which so often fails when tried in the furnace of affliction. There must be a reformation in the household, a setting up of family prayer, a coming to the ark before the flood of further sorrows overwhelms you. I am afraid that some of you neglect family prayer. If you do, it will work evil in your households. Family prayer is the nutriment of family piety, and woe to those who allow it to cease! Would you see those walls of misunderstanding fall? Then gather the family around the mercy seat and cry to God together. There is a whole family in heaven and earth, and the practical point is, do you belong to that family? Has each heart been brought to Christ? Are you trusting in Him for the forgiveness that blotteth out all sin?
I hear the fear that says, "Our sins are too great, our wounds too deep." But there is forgiveness! He has no "buts" in His forgiveness. You make a clean breast in confession, and He will give you a clean breast by absolution. The completeness of this forgiveness is such that He remembers the sin no more. Can you trust such a God? Can you trust Christ to heal the divisions and restore the years the locust hath eaten? Come to the ark, before yet the flood your lingering steps oppose. Bring your spouse, bring your children, as Noah did his, for the promise is to you and your house. The wife of the father of sons came into the ark, and so did the sons' wives. Oh, that in your family the saved ones may be many, and that peace and love and patience may bloom again because Christ dwells in every heart.
What might God have done with some of you if your hearts had been given to Him years ago! By this time you might have achieved a lifework glorious to God, and a family life happy to yourselves. But do not despair. There is forgiveness for the chief of sinners. The gifts and calling of God are without repentance. He never plays fast and loose with men. Trust Christ's word and you will be believing what is absolutely true. Trust it, take the comfort of it, and go your way. Let the anxious heart take down its wall, not by a forced effort of will, but by letting the love of Christ in. The Spirit of adoption leads us into peace, peace with God, and then peace with our fellow creatures. His ways are ways of pleasantness. Wherever He conducts us, peace in the end shall be the sure result.
I trust the one object of my life is to win souls for Christ, and so I press this upon you: if there is a Christ, trust Him! If there is sin, seek to be washed from it! If there is pardon, rest not till you have it! Be in earnest, be in earnest at once. Then, with forgiveness received and peace enjoyed, you shall find strength to never give up on each other. You shall be kept in perfect peace, peace, peace, whose mind is stayed on Him. And even when death shadows you and yours, you shall know that Jesus has vanquished death and all its powers. Earth's struggles soon shall cease, and Jesus calls us to heaven's perfect peace. Until that day, may your blended family be a proof of His restoring grace.
Prayer Focus: God, Thank You for loving me. Thank You for loving me, Jesus. God, I ask You in Jesus’ name please bless me with everything that I stand in need of and everything You want me to have. 
