What would sweet revenge feel like? Wouldn’t it be nice if the person who inflicted such pain on you went through the same pain? How much justice is too much? Too little? Just right?
After my husband walked out on us, I spent too much time imagining justice. Even during prayer, I offered God ideas of how to exact revenge. As if He needed my cleverly laid plans.
I read a great post by Max Lucado on Devotionals Daily entitled, Forgiveness and Entrusting Justice to God. If you’ve ever been hurt by someone (haven’t we all?) I highly recommend you read the whole post. In it, Lucado reminds us that God moves us forward by healing our past.
Lucado read my mind about God and healing when he asked, “Can He really? This seething disgust I feel every time I think of the one who treated me like yesterday’s trash?”
That’s how I used to feel. Like yesterday’s trash--forgotten, rejected, worthless. Thankfully I no longer feel that way. But that’s another topic for another post.
Lucado tells the story of Joseph, who was betrayed by his brothers. Joseph’s story was ripe with opportunity to exact revenge, but he didn’t. He left that for God to handle.
Lucado quotes scriptures to remind my revenge-seeking soul to simmer down.
Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. (Ephesians 4:31)
As Christ forgave you, so you also must do. (Colossians 3:13)
How do I reconcile betrayal, rejection, and anger with God’s command to forgive? As Lucado asks, “Isn’t some vengeance in order?” He says, “Of course it is. In fact, God cares more about justice than we do.” He’s right when he says, “We fear the evildoer will slip into the night, unknown and unpunished.” But he reminds us, “Not to worry. Scripture says God will repay, not that He might repay.”
It’s not my job to seek revenge, or to create feeble plots for justice. My job is to take the hurt, anger, confusion, and all the other junk and humbly give it to God, trusting Him to make something beautiful out of it. Knowing this truth brings me so much peace.
Max Lucado wraps it all up with this statement:
“Unlike us, God never gives up on a person. Never. Long after we have moved on, God is still there, probing the conscience, stirring conviction, always orchestrating redemption. Fix your enemies? That’s God’s job. Forgive your enemies? Ah, that’s where you and I come in. We forgive.”
OMG this is sooo hard! Not only did my husband betray me, reject me, and break every marriage vow, he crushed my children. It’s one thing to hurt me. But my kids? How do I forgive such a thing?
I can’t do it in my own power, that’s for sure. I struggle with this and pray about it daily. Lucado writes, “When it comes to forgiveness, all of us are beginners. No one owns a secret formula. As long as you are trying to forgive, you are forgiving. It’s when you no longer try that bitterness sets in.”
I choose not to be bitter. I choose not to seek justice or revenge. Instead, I choose to allow these circumstances to make me better, stronger. And I choose to give it to God and let Him handle it in His way and in His timing.
How about you? Do you wish for revenge? Justice? Is it difficult for you to forgive?
Until next time...
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