Vengeance Is Mine

How do you think you would respond if someone unfairly destroyed a “dream come true” that you worked hard to build, brick by brick, through sweat, blood, and tears? The answer is never hypothetical when you are on the receiving end. I personally experienced this unpleasant scenario, and it deeply tested my Christian character. When presented with such a calamity, do we respond with anger, bitterness, rage, and a desire for vindication and revenge against the person who hurt us? Or do we quell the raging “dogs of war” with the supernatural power of God’s grace to forgive and love those who wound us, to view this as another opportunity to humble oneself, and quietly trust in God to be our shield, defender, and vindicator bringing good from what the enemy meant for evil (Genesis 50:20)? Can we resist the impulse to take control and lash out and “be still and know” that God is on the throne (Psalm 46:10) governing the affairs of men for good?

I wrestled with these issues and made the difficult decision to overlook the offense, allowing God to work toward a Romans 8:28 anointing (that God produces good from all circumstances), even in life’s painful episodes. One of the keys in such situations is praying to the Lord for His intervention, as His discernment, wisdom, power, and righteousness far exceed my human desire for a fair outcome, which is infused with the hypocrisy of “grace for my own offenses” and justice for others. When faced with attacks from the enemy that exceed our ability to cope, we need to assume the time-honored and tested example of the saints of the church suffering persecution and lift our prayers as incense to be collected in heaven. Revelation 8:3 states, And a great amount of incense was given to him to mix with the prayers of God’s people as an offering on the gold altar before the throne. (NLT) God heard the prayers of the persecuted church, and He, not the saints, brought judgment and justice. We need to have that same trust and confidence in our trials that vengeance belongs to God.

Dear friends, never take revenge. Leave that to the righteous anger of God. For the Scriptures say, “I will take revenge; I will pay them back,” says the Lord. (Romans 12:19) The Lord produced good fruit from the fires of tribulation as He burned off the dross of my self-reliance and self-vindication as I trusted God at a deeper level. To God be the glory! 

I now use a three-point formula when faced with the desire to “overturn the tables of the money-changers” and exercise my righteous anger. which is never pure. Perhaps, you will benefit from my experience:

• First, reflect on your own heart and behaviors to see how your actions influenced the problem, and thereby remove the log of judgementalism from your eye. It does not matter if the result is 99 percent someone else’s responsibility and one percent yours, as we must humble ourselves and recognize our contributions to the situation. 
• Second, resist the emotional impulse to strike back or defend yourself. Rest in the Lord in prayer for strength, wisdom, and comfort. 
• Third, pray for those who have harmed you and forgive them while praying for their spiritual and personal well-being, and thank the Lord for the opportunity to be humbled at a deeper level. 

When we kill our ego and pride, the Lord restores what the enemy of our souls stole from us and brings a new day of hope and restoration (Joel 2:25)!

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Scripture is quoted from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.