Have you ever wanted to pour wrath out towards someone? I have. Did you actually try it or did you just want to do it? If you tried it were you satisfied with the result? Let me tell you about what God taught me about how wrath can bring hope.
As I have dealt with those who have harmed me in some way, I so much wanted to harm them back but was unable either because I lacked the ability or because I was unable to reach them. I looked to the Bible for my answers to the dilemma I was facing. I found answers to my situation. I found out first of all I should not look for vengeance but should allow God to handle it. Romans 12:17-19 says, “Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, ‘Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.”’ (ESV)
So what am I supposed to do just sit around and take it. Well it seems that I should. Mathew 5:38-40 says, “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I say to you, Do not resist the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if anyone would sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well.” (ESV) So, not only am I not to retaliate but am to give them more.
There is one more thing that I find interesting in this area of wrath. I find that someone who harms me becomes my enemy. The Bible tells me that I should pray for my enemies and there will come an unusual event. Matthew 5:38:43-48 tells me what to do and Romans 12:20 expounds on it “To the contrary, ‘if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.”’ (ESV)
Finally, God will or has already poured out His wrath for people. He has already poured it out for all. He poured it out on Jesus Christ on the cross. Jesus Himself asked God a question while He was on the cross that I believe shows that God’s wrath was being poured out upon Jesus on the cross because God’s holiness cannot be in the presence of sin. “And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” that is, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” Matthew 27:46 (ESV) It was at this point I believed God poured out His wrath upon the sins of all mankind. So, mankind now has two options as He always has had believe God and accept His free gift of eternal life or deny God and spend eternity separated from Him in torment and agony. If you need to say yes to God here this may help.
I pray you will find hope in allowing God to deal with those who offended you. That you too will choose not to take vengeance on your own behalf and let God take it for you. I hope you choose to pray for the one who has offended you. In do this you will have hope. Understanding that Jesus is the only source of true hope. The death of Jesus Christ on the cross satisfied the penalty for my sins and yours as well. It satisfied all my sins from the past, in the present and in the future. My penalty and yours was satisfied on the cross by the death of Jesus, God’s greatest act of love and wrath, who became sin for me and you. It was also God’s greatest act of faithfulness because “God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8 (ESV) Because wisdom shows us, we need to believe in Jesus. I hope that you join me in helping others to choose Jesus.
If you have not read my previous blogs, you can find them here. You can watch a book trailer about my book. You can find my book, Hope Amid Hopelessness: Our Abba Father Provides a Way Through Mental Illness here. eBook or Audiobook versions can be found at Westbow Press or Christianbook.com at Amazon or Google.
I mentioned that I was going through a difficult time right now. If you are interested in what I am going through, you can read about it here.
