“O Lord, the God of vengeance, O God of vengeance, let your glorious justice shine forth! Arise, O Judge of the earth. Give the proud what they deserve. How long, O Lord? How long will the wicked be allowed to gloat? How long will they speak with arrogance? How long will these evil people boast? They crush your people, Lord, hurting those you claim as your own. They kill widows and foreigners and murder orphans. “The Lord isn’t looking,” they say, “and besides, the God of Israel doesn’t care.” Think again, you fools! When will you finally catch on? Is he deaf—the one who made your ears? Is he blind—the one who formed your eyes? He punishes the nations—won’t he also punish you? He knows everything—doesn’t he also know what you are doing? The Lord knows people’s thoughts; he knows they are worthless!” Psalms 94:1-11 NLT
Have you ever wanted God to execute an act of vengeance on your behalf? Perhaps someone did you wrong or perpetrated a crime against you. Your heart became filled with anger, hatred, and malice. A desire for vengeance sprang up like a jack in the box. A very serious situation began brewing within you. What do you do? Should you let your feelings manifest in action? Should you talk with someone about your struggle? Should you pray to God and ask for His vindication? Should you dare ask Him to take action for you? All of these things hang over us like a cloud when we are threatened, harmed, maligned, and hurt. We want things made right!! We want swift justice! What better way to get it than to let God do our bidding, we think. There are a few things we need to set in order here: 1. You need to release your feelings into God's hands and seek His healing! 2. You must refuse to replay the scenario over and over in your heart and mind. Leave it in God's hands. 3. Recognize that God is not a hit man. He doesn't act as The Godfather. He is God The Father! Have you ever heard someone recite this: “...Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.” Romans 12:19 KJV This is an Old Testament quote from Deuteronomy 32:35. Now, let's look at the page in its full context: “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 NLT The idea that Paul the Apostle was expressing was releasing our evil feelings to God and not acting upon them. God is righteous and will always render appropriate justice. We should bring our injustices to God and candidly pour them out like water. Holding them inside only creates inward magma that will erupt into an explosion of hot emotional lava and spew ash all over the peripheral of our lives. Collateral damage occurs when we don't vomit our our deepest struggles to God! This is exactly what the psalmist was doing. He expressed His call for justice to God. He knew that God sees everything and was fully aware of his plight. He also knew that God would bring ultimate justice to all things of this life. God's justice is pure and righteous!!! Is there something stewing within you today? Don't spew it upon others! Pour it out to God and leave it there. Let God free you from the burden of bitterness, anger, and unforgiveness. When you pray to Him and vomit all of your sour stomach on His table, He will clean up the mess and dispense the medicine you need for cleansing and healing. You will be amazed at the relief you will find in Him! If you don't let it out to God, you will let it out on others. No one is capable of handling your situation, not even you! Only God!! Give it to Him!! “Don’t let evil conquer you, but conquer evil by doing good.” Romans 12:21 NLT
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March 2020
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