VENGEANCE IS NOT YOURS TO TAKE

05/26/2023

"Vengeance is Mine, and recompense; Their foot shall slip in due time; For the day of their calamity is at hand, And the things to come hasten upon them" (Deuteronomy 32:35).

Have you ever thought of retaliating for something someone did to you? Well, that thought, though it might have been warranted, should never find expression in any shape or form. Why? Because vengeance is the exclusive preserve of God. 

From the beginning, people were not designed to exact vengeance in any shape or form. When Cain murdered his brother, Abel, and he sought death for himself, God preserved Cain to exact revenge by Himself. The Bible records an exchange between Cain and God in Genesis 4:14-15 where Cain said, "Surely You have driven me out this day from the face of the ground; I shall be hidden from Your face; I shall be a fugitive and a vagabond on the earth, and it will happen that anyone who finds me will kill me. And the LORD said to him, "Therefore, whoever kills Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold." And the LORD set a mark on Cain, lest anyone finding him should kill him."

In essence, God exclusively preserved Cain for His vengeance. All through the scriptures, we are admonished to rest from retaliating or getting back at people for hurts or abuses, not because retribution is ungodly but because God is the one that personally handles the matter of payback. Romans 12:19 says, "Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, "Vengeance is Mine, I will repay," says the Lord." 

The only thing we owe people who hurt or abuse us is love. Jesus says, "bless those who curse you and pray for those who spitefully use you" (Luke 6:28). As a matter of fact, if you pray for these people and do good to them, the Bible says, you will be overcoming evil with good. 

There is a call of God to avoid returning evil for evil. Let go and let God by doing the word of God. God says, "He will repay!"

You are blessed.

Faith-Filled Confession

I am a doer of the word of God. I release every offense in the majesty of YAHWEH and ask for mercy for every person or circumstance that has caused me pain until now. I am free of any hurt, and I live as if it never occurred in Jesus' name. Amen

One-Year Reading Plan:  1 Chronicles 14-16; John 9:24-41