TOPIC: Not on a revenge mission. TEXT: PSALM 83:1-18 KEY VERSE: “That men may know that thou, whose name alone is Jehovah, art the most high over all the earth” (Psalm 83:18). There is a general belief that one must take back a pound of flesh from those who have hurt or cheated him. Retaliatory and vengeful tendency is so rife in the land that lasting peace has become elusive. One is considered weak, foolish and stupid if he refuses to revenge and stand- up to those who have wronged them or cheated them. This tendency reveals the depravity of the human nature. When we treat others better than they treat us, we take the high road of honour and nobility. In our passage today, we find Asaph praying the kind of prayer characteristic of Old Testament saints. He calls on God to rise and take up judgment against those who have set themselves against Him and the people of God. Even then, this prayer is very instructive to today’s believers. Instead of taking up arms ourselves against those who are unjust to us and treat us badly, we can hand them over to God in prayer to avenge for us. It is not proper for Christians to take up arms against their persecutors. And even when we hand them over to God to handle, it is not that God should bring them to damnable judgment. Rather, it should be that through the chastisement of God on them, they will come to recognize the supremacy of God and submit to Him. That was the whole essence of the Psalmist’s prayer. We cannot pray with a bitter spirit against our enemies and expect God to hear us. That is not the way of the New Testament Christians and that is not the way Christ taught us. What He taught us is to forgive and to love. He didn’t seek revenge against those who accused Him wrongly and who drove those agonizing nails into His hands. Instead, He prayed, “Father, forgive them…” That is what He has taught us to do; and that is what we must do. THOUGHT FOR TODAY: Learn to let go; never embark on a revenge mission.
Posted on: Sat, 20 Jul 2013 18:45:25 +0000
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