If you’ve ever disobeyed a parent, teacher or supervisor, then at some point in your life you’ve probably heard the stinging remark, “I’m not angry with you. I’m just disappointed in you.” Why do comments like this sear our consciences so badly? For some strange reason, we’d rather incite heated anger in a loved one than solemn disappointment. We simply hate letting people down.

Letting anybody down feels rotten, but it feels especially bad to disappoint the people we love and respect the most. When I embarrass myself in front of a group of strangers, I can laugh it off and spin it into a funny story for my friends. But when I hurt my wife—when I don’t listen to her concerns, when I go to sleep angry, when I prioritize my preferences over hers—it unsettles me to the core.

Have you recently hurt somebody you love? Perhaps you snapped at your child a little more harshly than you needed to. Maybe you’ve lost the trust of your spouse and are struggling to earn it back. Or maybe you simply weren’t there for a good friend when they needed you most.

When wrestling with the guilt and heartache of a broken relationship, you can turn to God’s Word for comfort and wisdom. Here are four Bible verses about the possibility of restoration and forgiveness—both in our personal relationships and in our relationship with the Lord.

1. Matthew 5:23 (GNTD)
   So if you are about to offer your gift to God at the altar and there you remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar, go at once and make peace with your brother, and then come back and offer your gift to God.
2. 1 John 1:9 (GNTD)
   But if we confess our sins to God, he will keep his promise and do what is right: he will forgive us our sins and purify us from all our wrongdoing.
3. Ephesians 4:31-32 (GNTD)
   Get rid of all bitterness, passion, and anger. No more shouting or insults, no more hateful feelings of any sort. Instead, be kind and tender-hearted to one another, and forgive one another, as God has forgiven you through Christ.
4. Psalm 103:11-13 (GNTD)
   As high as the sky is above the earth, so great is his love for those who honor him. As far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our sins from us. As a father is kind to his children, so the Lord is kind to those who honor him.