4/6 Strength for Today

Vengeance Belongs to God

Hebrews 10:30
“For we know him that hath said, Vengeance belongeth unto me, I will recompense, saith the Lord. And again, The Lord shall judge his people.”

The longer you live, the more you realize that life is filled with hurts. Unfortunately, many of the hurts of life come from people. Whether or not these people meant to hurt us, the fact is that hurt has occurred. Many times this hurt brings the desire to get revenge on those who brought the hurt to us.

The word “vengeance” means “to inflict pain on another in return for an injury or offense.” As you can see from the definition, vengeance is a reaction. Many times the reaction is an immediate reaction that we regret later on in life. Going further into the definition of the word “vengeance,” the root of the word comes from the Latin “vindico” from where we get our word “vindictive.” In other words, vengeance is an action that we perform to get revenge for what someone has done to us.

According to the verse above, vengeance belongs to God. Vengeance is one of the things that God never allows humans to have the right to own. Though many times God uses humans to get vengeance on those who have hurt someone, vengeance always belongs to God. Therefore, when we try to get revenge, we are stealing from God.

Christian, you have to understand that trying to get revenge is evil. It is evil because we are trying to hurt someone. By our attempt to get revenge on someone, we then sin against God, and now God must punish us as well. Vengeance only belongs to God.

Let me point out one other statement in the verse above that will help us concerning vengeance. Notice God promised, “...I will recompense, saith the Lord.” God promised He will take vengeance on those who have hurt us, but only in His timing. God's timing for vengeance is always better than ours. God's timing is always right. When God recompenses vengeance upon those who have hurt us, He does it at a time when that person is either too far gone to come back to Him, or it is at just the right time when God knows that vengeance will bring that person back to Him. This is why we must not try to take God's place in this area of vengeance.

Christian, God understands that you have been wronged, but you cannot live to get revenge on the one who has hurt you, for this will lead to bitterness. Stop trying to get revenge upon those who have hurt you and leave the vengeance up to God. When you move on and let God deal with the hurt, you will find life will be more enjoyable.

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