Rage -Revenge -Relief

 Rage - Revenge - Relief

Haven't we all watched a movie where the main character has been wronged in some way, maybe his wife was murdered right in front of him or his entire family was consumed in a house fire set off by an enemy or a brother was murdered by a rivaling gang? We cheered inside when the surviving person finally got revenge. 

Unfortunately, we have had a lot of incidents of school shootings, mall or public venue shootings all stemming from someone who felt they were bullied or wronged in some fashion. 

We have all been guilty of feeling  like revenge is a good thing when we are personally attacked or have felt like we were grossly wronged in some way or another. We are empathetic to the person who has been wronged and sought out revenge when we see or read about them seeking their own personal revenge in some way.

However, God teaches us that revenge is not the answer. Even sometimes when we try to seek revenge and are successful in doing so, it never brings back the person lost or gives us the complete feeling of satisfaction by taking the revenge out on that person. Instead, we are left with feelings of sadness, grief and loss still. 

Jesus teaches us that we are not to seek revenge on one another.  Romans 12: 19-21 (NIV)

Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge: I will repay,” says the Lord.  On the contrary: “If your enemy is hungry, feed him: if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head. Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. 

God is teaching us here to not seek revenge when we have been wronged, but allow God to handle the situation. He can handle it much better than we ever could. I have some personal examples but first I will continue to show more scriptures speaking on revenge.

 Also in, Proverbs 20:22  (NIV)  Do not say, “I will pay you back for this wrong!”; Wait for the Lord, and he will avenge  you.

In this scripture God is teaching us to allow God to repay the person for the wrong done to you, just sit back and wait on God to avenge you. God protects those who serve him. Just trust that he will handle any wrongdoings done to you. It does not mean that you will not be tested or will avoid all trials but God will have the victory in the end.

Proverbs 24:17 -18 (NIV) 

17  Do not gloat when your enemy falls; when they stumble, do not let your heart rejoice,  18 or the lord will see and disapprove and turn his wrath away from them.

This means if your enemy runs into calamity or falls onto hard times, do not be happy and say, “I told you so!”. Because if you do then the Lord will see that your heart is not right and will cease with his punishment on them. 

Now, I will testify that I have seen God take his own revenge on people who have done me wrong. God is so good that when someone has done you a great wrong, he will punish that person and allow you to witness that revenge first hand.  He wants to show you how he will provide vengeance by showing you how powerful HE truly is so that you will give him the glory and praise and trust him to take care of all of your needs. Allow God to lead you and guide you.  I have witnessed this many times over in my personal life and trust now that God will handle all of my worries and wrongs done by others to me.  I have had situations on my jobs, my personal relationships, my family relationships where God stepped in and handled the situation when I turned it over to him in prayer instead of seeking revenge myself.   

Please allow God to in turn get our justice and then we will have a sense of peace and will not continue to harbor those deep emotions and feelings in our hearts.  Some people hold onto things or emotions inside their hearts for years and will not allow the past to remain in the past.

 We have to learn to forgive and release those deep emotions and feelings of hurt, or it will destroy you inside. Harboring feelings for years of hurt and pain will eventually come out in some form or fashion, and usually it is not a good one. But releasing it and allowing God to heal our hearts and our pain, we can begin to grow and not be stifled by it.

  copywrited by Ella Shines Goldsmith,  April 20, 2025