Topic: STOP AVENGING YOURSELF
Bible Reading: 1 Samuel 25-26; Luke 16:19-31
Memory Verse: “And blessed be thy advice, and blessed be thou, which hast kept me this day from coming to shed blood, and from avenging myself with mine own hand.” 1 Samuel 25:33 (KJV) .
The Bible says in Romans 12:19 (KJV), “Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.” This is a command for all Christians and you are expected to comply. It is sad that quite a number of Christians take the position of God by avenging themselves. David would have done so as he was set to destroy the household of Nabal. But fortunately for him, Abigail came and urged him not to avenge himself as we see in 1 Samuel 26:23-31. Interestingly, God dealt a deadly blow to the man and was dead in ten days. David was quite happy that he did not avenge himself on Nabal and he blessed Abigail who advised him. He said in 1 Samuel 25:33 (KJV), “And blessed be thy advice, and blessed be thou, which hast kept me this day from coming to shed blood, and from avenging myself with mine own hand.”
When you avenge yourself, you could do it more than the person deserves or even less because you are limited in knowledge but God knows the motive of your adversary’s action and will take action that will exactly match what the person truly deserves. Leaving your adversary to God therefore keeps you from sinning. As we saw in David’s refusal to kill Saul even when he had the opportunity twice and God fought his battle for him by killing Saul in a war front. God is the only one that can give you victory without a fight.
Avenging yourself imply being angry with your enemy which means allowing yourself to be overtaken by evil. But the Bible says in Romans 12:21 (KJV), “Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.” It tells us how to achieve this in the earlier verse of the same passage. “Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head.” Romans 12:20 (KJV).
Who has offended you or done so much evil to you that you fill so agitated? Just praise God continually until your anger is doused. If it persists, then pray for him/her continuously until you can let go of the offense. Someone who was well trusted by me was placed as the CEO of one of our companies and he did not only run the company down, he engaged in acts of personal benefits from the company at the expense of the institution. I felt so disappointed and offended that I felt like dismissing him instantly but then, I realized I needed to seek the face of God concerning the issue. Surprisingly, God told me not to sack him and I had to pray for his good so that I could forgive him permanently. And God helped me to overcome the bitterness. So if you are going through a similar sorrowing experience, ensure you pray for the person until your heart can let him go and see how God will avenge for you.
Prayer point:
Father, as you forgave me my sins, please help me to forgive those who offend me and hand them over to you in Jesus Christ’s name.
Bro. Biodun Oyapero