Silas
Beloved of All
I notice this text contains no personal names, locations, or identifying numbers that need redaction. The text is a pastoral response discussing biblical principles and prayers, mentioning only biblical figures like David and Jesus, which are explicitly excluded from redaction per the instructions.
Here is the original text:
Your honest cry has been heard, and I understand how heavy it feels when it seems people are set against you and you long for relief and for them to simply leave you alone. The Psalms do give voice to that kind of distress, and Psalm 69 is one of those places where David pours out his anguish before God and asks God to deal with those who oppose him.
Scripture also teaches us something important about how we handle that desire for justice. Vengeance belongs to the Lord. As it is written, vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord. David himself, even when he spoke of God rewarding evil to his enemies and cutting them off in His truth, was not taking vengeance into his own hands. He was leaving the matter with God, trusting God to deliver him out of trouble. That is where we must be careful, because our hearts can so quickly move from asking God for help to devising vengeance ourselves, and that is where we get into trouble.
God is slow to anger and abounding in mercy. He is patient, He sees all that is done, and no one sins against Him with impunity, yet He does not always bring justice swiftly because He is merciful and gives space for repentance. He will not acquit the wicked, and there is a coming day of judgment when He will set all things right, but that day is in His hands and in His timing. Even when the prophets speak of that day of vengeance, in almost the same breath they speak of mentioning the loving kindnesses of the Lord, the multitude of His tender mercies and His great goodness toward His people.
Jesus teaches us in the New Testament to take a different path than simply praying for harm to come upon those who hurt us. He calls us to bless those who curse us and to pray for those who mistreat us, while we entrust judgment to God who judges righteously. That does not mean your pain is ignored. The Lord knows when enemies seem to triumph and when you feel pursued. Like David you can pray, unto You, O Lord, I lift up my soul, I trust in You, let me not be ashamed, lead me in a level path because of my enemies. You can ask Him to keep your own heart from bitterness and from wanting to take vengeance, and to guard you and give you peace.
God also shows Himself as a merciful God who blots out transgressions when we confess them rather than hiding or excusing them. If there is anything in your own heart that needs His cleansing, bring it openly to Him and trust the abundance of His tender mercy through Jesus Christ, for He forgives and does not impute iniquity to those who trust in Him.
So I will not join you in asking God to make people blind and dumb, but I will pray for you as Scripture directs. I pray that the Lord will deliver you from trouble, that He will scatter the power of what is coming against you, that He will cause those who seek to harm you to turn away, that He will be your judge and defender and lift you up, and that He will anoint you with fresh strength and keep your heart in His loving kindness and mercy. I pray He will work in the hearts of those who oppose you to bring them to repentance, and that you will see His goodness in the land of the living as you wait upon Him and trust Him.
Here is the original text:
Your honest cry has been heard, and I understand how heavy it feels when it seems people are set against you and you long for relief and for them to simply leave you alone. The Psalms do give voice to that kind of distress, and Psalm 69 is one of those places where David pours out his anguish before God and asks God to deal with those who oppose him.
Scripture also teaches us something important about how we handle that desire for justice. Vengeance belongs to the Lord. As it is written, vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord. David himself, even when he spoke of God rewarding evil to his enemies and cutting them off in His truth, was not taking vengeance into his own hands. He was leaving the matter with God, trusting God to deliver him out of trouble. That is where we must be careful, because our hearts can so quickly move from asking God for help to devising vengeance ourselves, and that is where we get into trouble.
God is slow to anger and abounding in mercy. He is patient, He sees all that is done, and no one sins against Him with impunity, yet He does not always bring justice swiftly because He is merciful and gives space for repentance. He will not acquit the wicked, and there is a coming day of judgment when He will set all things right, but that day is in His hands and in His timing. Even when the prophets speak of that day of vengeance, in almost the same breath they speak of mentioning the loving kindnesses of the Lord, the multitude of His tender mercies and His great goodness toward His people.
Jesus teaches us in the New Testament to take a different path than simply praying for harm to come upon those who hurt us. He calls us to bless those who curse us and to pray for those who mistreat us, while we entrust judgment to God who judges righteously. That does not mean your pain is ignored. The Lord knows when enemies seem to triumph and when you feel pursued. Like David you can pray, unto You, O Lord, I lift up my soul, I trust in You, let me not be ashamed, lead me in a level path because of my enemies. You can ask Him to keep your own heart from bitterness and from wanting to take vengeance, and to guard you and give you peace.
God also shows Himself as a merciful God who blots out transgressions when we confess them rather than hiding or excusing them. If there is anything in your own heart that needs His cleansing, bring it openly to Him and trust the abundance of His tender mercy through Jesus Christ, for He forgives and does not impute iniquity to those who trust in Him.
So I will not join you in asking God to make people blind and dumb, but I will pray for you as Scripture directs. I pray that the Lord will deliver you from trouble, that He will scatter the power of what is coming against you, that He will cause those who seek to harm you to turn away, that He will be your judge and defender and lift you up, and that He will anoint you with fresh strength and keep your heart in His loving kindness and mercy. I pray He will work in the hearts of those who oppose you to bring them to repentance, and that you will see His goodness in the land of the living as you wait upon Him and trust Him.
