Is Vengeance Our Job, Or God's?

I told a couple of friends one day that I would never physically fight another woman for my man.  They both said “I would”.  Now, I’m not saying they are wrong and I’m right, but when it comes to forms of vengeance, I’m a firm believer that “Vengeance is the Lord’s”.  Do I like it?  Not all the time.  Sometimes it even feels like I’m being punished for doing what I believe is right.

Early on in my marriage, I found out that I had been betrayed by not just a friend from church, but a childhood friend that I considered to be the closest person in my extended family.  In later years, a child was born, connecting me to this person in a way I never expected or wanted.   I felt the extreme pain of hurt, disappointment, confusion and loss.  Did I ever feel like hurting her in return or “telling her off”?  No.  Now, you might not believe me, but it’s true.  I spent the latter parts of my marriage trying to do what was right, even for her and her child.  Though the marriage ended (for other reasons), I believe that I still did what I was supposed to do for all involved.  

Prayer and continual talking (and listening) to God were my behaviors during that time.  Did I get mad?  Yeah—my ex will tell you that.  Did I act on my anger?  No—in fact, I worked harder to accept what was going on.  You see, when God puts you in a situation, there is no time for focusing on what it’s doing to you.  It’s all about working through and getting to the other side.  Was it hard?  IT WAS THE HARDEST THING I HAD EVER DONE IN MY LIFE.  My human side kept fighting to get out…I was so stressed during that time.  But I knew that God would take care of everything I was going through and we would be alright.  Even in the loss of the friend and eventually my marriage, I felt God was with me and I rested in His arms.  During that time, my faith was strengthened to the point that I found that I didn’t need to handle the rough stuff—God would be there to give me peace.  That’s all vengeance is anyway, isn’t it?  Trying to grab back some peace in the midst of your storm.  Well, what if I told you that you could experience peace before, during AND after your storm?  The answer is this:  GIVE IT ALL OVER TO GOD.  He CAN and WILL handle all of it.

Am I saying that you need to go through life and be taken advantage of and never tell someone that they hurt you?  No—I’ve had those conversations and will tell someone in a minute if I feel I’ve been wronged.  But that’s all I’ve ever done.  The rest isn’t my job, nor is it my business to know if someone paid for what they did.

For those of you who are church goers—would you fight someone who stood in the way of your being with the person you love?  Would you go off on someone who betrayed you in some way?  Do you feel that your form of justice is fair and would God be pleased with your behavior?  I offer you a better way.  Go to God, give Him your burdens, your hurts, and your pain.  THEN WATCH HIM WORK!!!!

ONWARD!!!