God's Revenge
(Lessons from Abigail– number 8)
Let God do the 'Getting Even' for you!!
“And it came to pass about ten days after, that the LORD smote Nabal, that he died.
And when David heard that Nabal was dead, he said, Blessed be the LORD, that hath pleaded the cause of my reproach from the hand of Nabal, and hath kept his servant from evil: for the LORD hath returned the wickedness of Nabal upon his own head…”
1Samuel 25:38-39
“…for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.”
Romans 12:19
In this story David nearly got revenge with Nabal, but Abigail stepped in. David chose to leave the revenge to God, and look what happened. God dealt with Nabal. David didn't have to! If David had of taken revenge, then two people would have done something wrong. Two wrongs don't make right!
God is the judge, and He has promised that He will repay. But we naturally want to take revenge when someone hurts or angers us. We may not even think of it as 'taking revenge' in a lot of cases.
When we get revenge, we just make ourselves more problems. We feel guilty, and we usually end up hurting ourselves more than them. It's far better to leave it God.
What are some 'everyday' reasons for revenge?
When somebody says something unkind to us.
When somebody accuses us of something we haven't done.
When someone criticizes us, but we know we were doing the best we could.
When somebody hurts us on purpose.
When somebody tries to get us in trouble.
When somebody tries to be irritating.
How do we react?
Shoot back angry words?
Ignore them?
Give them the silent treatment?
Do something mean back?
Look for ways to get them in trouble?
How are we supposed to react?
Do something nice back.
Pray for them.
Pray for help to be self-controlled, humble and forgiving.
Do your best to still get along with them.
God has promised that He will repay. Trust Him!
