“Israel also came into Egypt; And Jacob sojourned in the land of Ham. And he increased his people greatly; And made them stronger than their enemies. He turned their heart to hate his people, To deal subtilly with his servants. He sent Moses his servant; And Aaron whom he had chosen. They shewed his signs among them, And wonders in the land of Ham. He sent darkness, and made it dark; And they rebelled not against his word. He turned their waters into blood, And slew their fish. Their land brought forth frogs in abundance, In the chambers of their kings. He spake, and there came divers sorts of flies, And lice in all their coasts.”
Psalm 105:23-31 KJV
https://bible.com/bible/1/psa.105.23-31.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 ...