“O my God, make them like a wheel; As the stubble before the wind. As the fire burneth a wood, And as the flame setteth the mountains on fire; So persecute them with thy tempest, And make them afraid with thy storm. Fill their faces with shame; That they may seek thy name, O LORD. Let them be confounded and troubled for ever; Yea, let them be put to shame, and perish: That men may know that thou, whose name alone is JEHOVAH, Art the Most High over all the earth.”
Psalm 83:13-18 KJV
https://bible.com/bible/1/psa.83.13-18.KJV
Undeserved Mercies
When someone hurts you or, worse, hurts somebody that you love, revenge can seem appealing. After all…
They were mean.
They were selfish.
They talked behind your back.
They broke a vital promise.
They lied about you.
They criticized you.
They ignored you.
They did the unthinkable.
They walked away.
They deserve to be punished, right? To feel some of that same pain? They deserve a consequence that will not only help them learn, but will be just as severe as the inflicted wounds.
And yet—because God sees things differently, both His standards and tactics can be surprising. And that’s why the apostle Paul, writing to the believers in Thessaloniki, said:
“See that no one pays back evil for evil, but always try to do good to each other and to all people.”
1 Thessalonians 5:15 NLT
Paul’s words sound a lot like Jesus’ words—to love your neighbor as yourself; to do to others what you’d like them to do to you. (See: Matthew 22:38-40)
God’s ways ...