Week Forty-Three - Revenge

Sometimes I read things that I feel I must share with you just as they come. Henry Blackaby's devotion on revenge is one of those things. 

He says,

"One of the hardest areas in which to trust God is in the matter of justice. When we perceive an injustice, we want to see the guilty party punished. We want justice to prevail, especially if we are the victim. We become impatient if we are not avenged quickly. Yet God warns us that vengeance is not our prerogative. We are to desire justice, but we are not to seek vengeance (Micah 6:8). When someone offends us, our responsibility is to respond to the offense with forgiveness (Matthew 5:44). God takes the responsibility to see that justice is done. God loves people too much to allow sin to go unchecked."

This sense of demanding justice when offended seems totally out of control today. People push and push using cancel culture and intimidation to get a sense of justice. But when we remember that this is God's call, His job, we must recognize that only He can get the right level and attitude toward justice. He is just. We are not. We are always influenced by our prejudices.

"Peter claimed that God is not slow about His promises to us, but He is patent and long-suffering before He brings about judgment (2 Peter 3:9). Yet ultimately, God has prepared for absolute justice. There will be no sin committed that He will leave unpunished. Either the punishment will fall on His Son, or it will be charged against the sinner, but everyone will ultimately give an account for everything they have done (2 Corinthians 5:10)."

When my husband and I read this devotion together, it prompted many conversations about one sentence in particular. "Either the punishment will fall on His Son, or it will be charged against the sinner, but everyone will ultimately give an account for everything they have done." How true and how beautiful!

Our sin demands an account. It must be taken care of. Either our sin will be forgiven by the death of Christ on the cross, or we will face God without the covering of Christ's forgiveness - we will answer for ourselves. Friend, you cannot answer for your sin except by death. You cannot pay for your sin though you spend an eternity in hell. But there is always the option of accepting the price already paid - the death of God's Son for your sin.

"God is absolutely just, and only He can ensure that justice is fully carried out. If we are impatient and seek revenge, we presume that we are wiser than God, and we reveal a blatant lack of trust that God will do the right thing. Only by trusting God's sovereign wisdom will we be free from our anger and preoccupation toward those who have committed evil. If we refuse to trust God's justice, we become enslaved to bitterness and anger. We must guard our hearts and trust God to exercise His judgment against those who oppose Him."

Dear friend, be careful how much you allow the injustices of life to push you deeper into bitterness or anger. Instead, guard your heart and trust Him. Vengeance is His, and He promises to make all things right in the end. There will be perfect justice for all.

So, let's follow Jesus' example. Forgive. Wait on God. Seek peace and pursue it. And commit the keeping of our souls to him in well doing, as unto a faithful Creator. (1 Peter 4:19)