Scripture: 1 Samuel 15:1 - 17:31
"This is what the LORD of the Heaven's Armies has declared: I have decided to settle accounts with the nation of Amalek for opposing Israel when they came from Egypt." (1 Samuel 15:2 NLT)
Have you ever been wronged? Do you have a desire to settle the score with your enemy? Whether the offender is someone we know or a stranger, it is human to want to get even or to make someone pay for what they’ve done against us.
One of the hardest things about being a Christian is trying to be a vessel of the Living God while wearing the skin of humanness. Knowing in your heart that He is the Lord of the Heaven’s Armies (wow!) and is our defender is one thing, but waiting on Him to take action is another. We are born with impatience, rudeness, and revenge in our heart. Yet, when we are reborn as Christ-followers, we are gifted with patience, kindness, and self-control from the Holy Spirit.
A deep-seeded desire for vengeance can become a chain that shackles us to our pain. For good spiritual health and kingdom effectiveness, we have to learn to trust God’s timing for exacting justice. This means accepting the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Waiting is the hardest part.
The Lord said He was going to settle the account with the Amalekites from the time of the exodus from Egypt. (Exodus 17:8-14) Those who were harmed in the battle with the Amalekites after the exodus were long gone and forgotten, but God did not forget. He redeemed their loss and punished their enemy.
Like the Israelites who fought in the battle against the Amalekites, we might not see our account settled. That is okay. We can't live life waiting for the moment of redemption of our pain. Doing so means we are waiting on revenge more than we are waiting on God. That leads to a life of anger, bitterness, and frustration. Can we make the decision today to remove the shackles of revenge and trade them for the light and easy yoke of the Lord? We can patiently rest in Him and His timing.
