Harvest Daily with Greg Laurie - Jan. 13, 2006
Friday, January 13, 2006
Vengeance Is Mine
“Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” —Romans 12:21
Not to forgive is to usurp the authority of God. It’s like taking God’s place. You see, if you are a Christian, then it isn’t your right to hold bitterness and unforgiveness in your heart. In fact, the Bible clearly forbids that. Instead, we are commanded to forgive others.
The apostle Paul wrote, “Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, ‘Vengeance is mine, I will repay,’ says the Lord. Therefore if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him a drink.” (Romans 12:19–20). As Christians, we should never take revenge.
“How am I going to do this?” we may wonder. “It’s so hard.” The answer is that we need the help of the Holy Spirit. We need to say, “God, it’s practically impossible for me to do this, but You have told me do it, and I know You won’t ask me to do anything that you will not give me the power to do.”
However, let’s not sit around and wait for some wave of forgiveness to sweep over our emotions. That may never come. But in obedience to God, be willing to say to that person who has wronged you, “I forgive you.” Don’t worry about your emotions. Just do what God tells you to do, because it is the right thing to do.
You can overcome evil with good.
Copyright © 2006 by Harvest Ministries. All rights reserved.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Bible text from the New King James Version is not to be reproduced in copies or otherwise by any means except as permitted in writing by Thomas Nelson, Inc., Attn: Bible Rights and Permissions,
More by Greg Laurie: http://www.harvest.org/devotional/index.php/5.html
