Vengeance Is His!

“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.”

Hebrews 10:30

There have been times in my life when I was truly the victim and my heart burned with revenge. I never took the time to take the matter to prayer, and I was purely reactionary in my actions. I have not always allowed God to be the righteous Judge, and I have taken matters into my own hands when I should not have.

I attended an ASU football game where the game was exciting and competitive. We were not expected to win as the other team was ranked highly, but we were dominating the opposing team on both sides of the ball. The opposing team’s fans were quiet as expected, but there was a change of events and it soon brought out the hecklers in the crowd. 

The other team was attempting a comeback and I started to grow nervous. Our big lead began to dissipate, and I had seen this end poorly before. During the comeback, there was a fan seated behind us who was for the other team and was obnoxious to say the least. His voice grew louder as his team mounted their comeback. His words became vulgar and and my dad asked him to watch his mouth. He mentioned something else toward my dad and then directed a disparaging comment toward Rebekah. 

I started to get upset and then grew quite angry. I could feel the anger fill my body, and I wanted to punch his lights out. He was enemy number one to our entire section and started a fight with someone seated above him. I attempted to climb the seat and join the fracas, but I knew it wasn’t right. The man seated next to me grabbed my arm and told me, “He’s not worth it!” I took my foot off the seat and rethought my initial decision. My body shook as I was so angry and adrenaline filled my body from head to toe. The police came and stood in our section and the Sun Devils pulled out a victory. The man left our section, but my heart still sought revenge as I wanted this man to pay for his words.

I was in church the next morning, and I had to ask God to forgive my vengeful heart. I was trying to find the guy on social media and my soul became noisy. I gave it to God and found rest for my soul. The anger dissipated and it became a story my kids would not let me forget. I am glad I stayed out of the slammer, and I am thankful to God for the peace He gave me after the altercation. 

Do you seek revenge on someone? Is your heart noisy because you hold anger and bitterness in your heart? Have you asked God to forgive you for your vengeful heart? Will you give your anger to God and forgive others as you have been forgiven? May our goal be not to simply stay out of the slammer, but may our goal be to please Him. God is the righteous judge and we must not interfere with His justice. Stay in the fight which will help you to stay OUT of the fight!