NYI GAUTENG

Day 22 Devotion-The Comfort of Vengeance

WHAT GOD SAYS:

So Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing with which his father blessed him, and Esau said in his heart, “The days of mourning for my father are at hand; then I will kill my brother Jacob.” And the words of Esau her older son were told to Rebekah. So she sent and called Jacob her younger son, and said to him, “Surely your brother Esau comforts himself concerning you by intending to kill you.” Genesis 27:41–42

The desire for vengeance is not made of sugar, spice and things that are nice. The desire for payback is a consequence of painful and traumatic injuries that we suffered at the hands of others. But what we don’t realize is the pain from the earlier injustice is greatly multiplied by the torment we are under because of our unwillingness to forgive. This pain and distress creates a powerful desire to find comfort. As you read in Genesis 27, the desire and planning for vengeance can bring us comfort: “Esau comforts himself concerning you by intending to kill you.”

Recently, I had a conversation with a young woman named Shari who had lived a hard life. Over the last several years, God miraculously turned her life around. Now she volunteers her time helping younger girls overcome the difficulties that she faced when she was their age.

Shari wept as she shared about a conversation she had with her close friend who was in prison. Her friend was proud of Shari for changing her life and even congratulated her. However, when Shari attempted to persuade her friend to forgive those who wronged her, she immediately refused.

She heatedly told Shari, “It is great that you have turned your life around, but when I get out of here, a few people are going to pay for ratting on me to the police!” Shari’s friend had been comforting herself during those years in jail by planning how she was going to get even. Every day she secretly soothed her troubled heart by picturing the suffering she would cause in the lives of the people who betrayed her.

Dube Neighbourhood WatchIMPACT COTNNYI Alumni

*Day 21 Devotion-What Exactly Is Vengeance?*

WHAT GOD SAYS:

_“You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth’ but I tell you not to resist an evil person. But whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also. If anyone wants to sue you and take away your tunic, let him have your cloak also. And whoever compels you to go one mile, go with him two.” Matthew 5:38-41_

What exactly is vengeance? Vengeance is the act or desire to harm someone for the injustices and injuries they committed against us. Vengeance demands that the offender pays-in-full for what they did. This passionate and powerful desire for payback is what makes forgiving others so difficult. As you learned earlier, the seventh and final stage in the downward Slide of Forgiveness is the obsessive desire for, and actions leading to, our taking out vengeance.

No one can debate that the natural response to your life having been painfully damaged by another person’s evil actions and intentions is the desire for justice. You’ve suffered greatly and it’s only fair that you see to it they suffer greatly as well. Right? Well, not necessarily. But why? Because, although no one on the face of the earth deserves forgiveness for an act of planned wickedness against us, every single person on earth needs forgiveness.

Vengeance creates a mighty dam that prevents forgiveness from flowing outward to others, upward towards God, and inward towards ourselves. Vengeance may be what we all desire when wrongfully treated, but it refuses to give every person who was created in the image of God what their souls desperately wish for and needs— undeserved forgiveness! Today, spend one minute thanking God for helping you to open the door of your heart. Then spend another minute expressing deep gratitude to Him for giving you His compassion for those who have wounded you.

IMPACT COTNDube Neighbourhood WatchNYI Alumni

*Day 18 Devotion-Steps 3–5 of the Forgiveness Process*

WHAT GOD SAYS:

_15 looking carefully lest anyone fall short of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up cause trouble, and by this many become defiled; Hebrews 12:15
_

You’ve almost made it to the “Forgiveness Finish Line.” Your heart that was once closed is now open. Feelings that were once frozen-over due to the frosty chill of anger and pain have been thawed by the warm fire of your compassion and mercy. All that remains are these final three steps.

*Step #3* : Release the person from your Heart-Prison. Use your imagination for a moment. See yourself walking to each cell located in your Heart-Prison. Slowly open the door and say to each person that you have held captive, “I release you for what you have done to me.” Walk into each dark and musty cell and stretch out your arms and embrace them. As you hug each person, feel God’s love and compassion bringing life to them and yourself. Allow your heart to rejoice, because you have done something that needed to be done a long time ago.

*Step #4:* Forgive each trespass one at a time. After releasing the person from your Heart-Prison, forgive them for every wound they have caused. Yes, every single one. This is like applying a strong disinfectant that kills every germ, because you don’t want to leave any trace of bacteria that has potential to grow again. On the top a piece of paper, write the person’s name who wounded you the most and then list all the specific ways their words and actions wounded you. Once you have completed your list, forgive every sin on the list. Say, “I forgive you NAME for wounding me by _________” Say it again right from your heart. Continue until nothing yet remains on your list. Then do the same for all the people you need to forgive.

*Step #5:* Bless and do good to the person. If you can complete this step, it proves you have genuinely forgiven them. You only can bless someone that you have forgiven. Since you have forgiven them, you are free to ask God’s richest blessing to rain upon their lives. Say to the Lord, “Dear God, please abundantly bless NAME in all areas of their life!”

IMPACT COTNDube Neighbourhood WatchNYI Alumni