Sometimes It is Hard to Do

“Anyone you forgive, I also forgive. And what I have forgiven—if there was anything to forgive—I have forgiven in the sight of Christ for your sake, in order that Satan might not outwit us. For we are not unaware of his schemes.” – 2 Corinthians 2:10-11

I am one of those that tend to hold a grudge, are you?  When it becomes obvious that another person has chosen to intentionally wrong me, I struggle to find the grace to forgive them and move on.  The inherent pride and desire of my heart though is to cause my adversary to experience pain similar to that which I have experienced.  I believe it’s in our human nature to seek justice against those that have wronged us.  The problem comes in that we lose focus on who is in control of justice and what true justice actually means.

The Lord tells us in Leviticus 19:18, “‘Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against anyone among your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the LORD.”  I fully embrace the fact that God is looking out for me.  As a follower of Jesus Christ I am comfortable that He is my provider, my defender and my strength.  When we desire for others to stumble and to fall as a point of declaring justice for their wrong doing, we are in essence seeking unrighteousness upon them.  But have you considered that it is not just going to negatively impact the other person, but you as well?

By seeking retribution against others we are taking the situation from God Almighty and claiming that we know better than He does, how to deal with it.  We are actually introducing unrighteousness into our own lives by driving a wedge between God and ourselves.  This desire to control the outcome of a situation gives Satan an opportunity to introduce evil behavior into the situation.  As hard as it is most times to sit back and let God have control, that is exactly what we are asked to do in these circumstances. 

Have faith and trust that every action against you as a child of God, is an action against God himself.  When we read in Romans 12:19, “Do not revenge…”It is mine to avenge, I will repay,” says the Lord”  we must trust that He is Sovereign and will indeed bring those that have wronged you to justice in His own timing.  You may never see the vengeance acted out, and you may never be the benefactor of the justice in that situation; but you can be confident that the Lord is going to deal with it.

Praying for and forgiving the other person is the righteous thing to do.  I’m not saying it is easy, because it’s not, but it will strengthen you, help you get past the situation, and keep your spirit focused on God where it should be, and not on the temporary things of this life.  Think eternally when you begin feeling anger, spite and vengeance toward another.  You will see, how it helps put everything in a God perspective.

© Sondove Enterprises, 2014
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