Silas
Beloved of All
The hurt and suffering you are describing is real, and God sees it fully. When you have been mistreated and left in pain, and when you believe others have been harmed as well, it is understandable to feel deep anger and to cry out for justice to be done quickly.
There is an anger that is not sinful in itself, an anger at what is wrong and unjust and harmful. Jesus Himself showed anger at what dishonored God and harmed people. To feel anger at mistreatment does not mean you have sinned, but Scripture warns us, be angry and do not sin, and do not let that anger settle into your heart and become bitterness. Bitterness and wrath and clamoring for revenge grieve the Holy Spirit and can spread and defile many, including our own hearts. That is why we are told not to let the sun go down on our wrath and to put away malice and to guard against any root of bitterness taking hold.
Scripture is very clear that vengeance belongs to the Lord. It says, vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord. Psalm 94 reminds us that God is the judge of the earth who will render to the proud what is due, and that those who do evil are fools to think God does not see or does not regard what they do. He does see. He does regard. Nothing is hidden from Him.
Where we must be careful is in wanting to take that vengeance into our own hands or in asking God to act out of our own desire to punish. David often cried out for God to act, but he did not take vengeance himself. He left it to God. We need to pray, Lord, keep my heart from devising vengeance and from wanting to repay evil myself. God has said the day of vengeance is in His heart, but when Jesus came the first time He did not come to bring that day of vengeance. He came to bring atonement and redemption and to provide a righteous basis for the forgiveness of sins. The full purging of unrighteousness and the final justice is still future, and God will bring it in His perfect time and in true justice. In the meantime He calls us to trust Him as the righteous judge.
That does not mean that wrong should be ignored or that truth should stay hidden. It is right to pray that the truth be brought into the light, that what has been done in secret be exposed, and that others be protected from harm. If there has been genuine mistreatment, there are lawful and orderly ways to report it so that it can be examined fairly, and you can pursue those while still entrusting the ultimate outcome to God. Pray that God will reveal what is true, that He will protect patients, that He will give wisdom to those who are responsible to judge such matters, and that His justice, not our anger, will prevail.
It is also right to bring your own wound to Him for healing. He invites all who are hurting to come and receive His love, His cleansing and His pardon through Jesus Christ. Though our sins be as scarlet, He can make them white as snow when we confess them openly before Him, not by justifying ourselves but by acknowledging our need for mercy. The same mercy that you need for your own healing is the mercy He holds out to all, and He alone knows every heart.
So I will pray with you not for personal revenge, but that God would do what is right. May He heal your body and your heart, lift this heavy burden from your conscience, keep you from being consumed by bitterness, and give you peace as you place this matter into His hands. May He cause truth to be known, protect others from harm, and bring about His just and righteous judgment in His way and time. And may you find rest in knowing that He sees, He cares, and He will repay with perfect righteousness, while also offering forgiveness and healing to all who will come to Jesus and ask.
There is an anger that is not sinful in itself, an anger at what is wrong and unjust and harmful. Jesus Himself showed anger at what dishonored God and harmed people. To feel anger at mistreatment does not mean you have sinned, but Scripture warns us, be angry and do not sin, and do not let that anger settle into your heart and become bitterness. Bitterness and wrath and clamoring for revenge grieve the Holy Spirit and can spread and defile many, including our own hearts. That is why we are told not to let the sun go down on our wrath and to put away malice and to guard against any root of bitterness taking hold.
Scripture is very clear that vengeance belongs to the Lord. It says, vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord. Psalm 94 reminds us that God is the judge of the earth who will render to the proud what is due, and that those who do evil are fools to think God does not see or does not regard what they do. He does see. He does regard. Nothing is hidden from Him.
Where we must be careful is in wanting to take that vengeance into our own hands or in asking God to act out of our own desire to punish. David often cried out for God to act, but he did not take vengeance himself. He left it to God. We need to pray, Lord, keep my heart from devising vengeance and from wanting to repay evil myself. God has said the day of vengeance is in His heart, but when Jesus came the first time He did not come to bring that day of vengeance. He came to bring atonement and redemption and to provide a righteous basis for the forgiveness of sins. The full purging of unrighteousness and the final justice is still future, and God will bring it in His perfect time and in true justice. In the meantime He calls us to trust Him as the righteous judge.
That does not mean that wrong should be ignored or that truth should stay hidden. It is right to pray that the truth be brought into the light, that what has been done in secret be exposed, and that others be protected from harm. If there has been genuine mistreatment, there are lawful and orderly ways to report it so that it can be examined fairly, and you can pursue those while still entrusting the ultimate outcome to God. Pray that God will reveal what is true, that He will protect patients, that He will give wisdom to those who are responsible to judge such matters, and that His justice, not our anger, will prevail.
It is also right to bring your own wound to Him for healing. He invites all who are hurting to come and receive His love, His cleansing and His pardon through Jesus Christ. Though our sins be as scarlet, He can make them white as snow when we confess them openly before Him, not by justifying ourselves but by acknowledging our need for mercy. The same mercy that you need for your own healing is the mercy He holds out to all, and He alone knows every heart.
So I will pray with you not for personal revenge, but that God would do what is right. May He heal your body and your heart, lift this heavy burden from your conscience, keep you from being consumed by bitterness, and give you peace as you place this matter into His hands. May He cause truth to be known, protect others from harm, and bring about His just and righteous judgment in His way and time. And may you find rest in knowing that He sees, He cares, and He will repay with perfect righteousness, while also offering forgiveness and healing to all who will come to Jesus and ask.
