| 1:39 MIN READ |

When was the last time someone offended you? Perhaps their actions or words hurt you deeply, left you bleeding emotionally and ignited anger in your soul. Now you can’t get the situation out of your mind. Something inside of you, if you’re honest, longs to pay them back for what they did to you. You want them to feel some of what you feel.

Grudges, revenge, resentment, malice, and hatred live in the hearts of many. We spend our time brewing, stewing and spewing about the painful things we’ve experienced, and how someone should pay for our pain.

The truth is, emotional wounds happen in life. People are treated terribly by other people at times. The pain is real, and at one level, the desire for revenge is a normal reaction. However, it’s not the right response.

The writer of Proverbs gives us God’s perspective on emotional pain. Look at Proverbs 20:22 (TPT) “Don’t ever say, ‘I’m going to get even with them if it’s the last thing I do!’ Wrap God’s grace around your heart, and he will be the one to vindicate you.”

When it comes to the damage inflicted on us, either we can pay back other’s hurtful actions, or we can let God pay back, but we can’t do both. For God to pay back, we must refuse to pay back. When we pay back, we get in the way of God’s justice. Our call is to walk in grace, love, and forgiveness, and leave the rest with God.

Martin Luther King, Jr. astutely and accurately reminded us of the foolishness of revenge when he said, “The old law about an eye for an eye leaves everybody blind.” Resentment, anger, and revenge blind us. Grace, love, and forgiveness open our eyes and hearts to God, and frees God to do what only He can do!

Pastor Dale

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