The Lord is near the brokenhearted; he saves those crushed in spirit. —Psalm 34:18
When we or those we love have been sinned against, we have a natural desire for revenge. We want evildoers to get what they deserve. It’s helpful to understand that God doesn’t ask us to repress those natural emotions, to bury the pain, or to pretend the offense never happened.
In fact, He wants us to face that pain honestly, to let Him know the anger we feel. He can handle it. But He also wants us to do what the psalmist in Psalm 137 does, and that’s give it all to God. “There we hung up our lyres on the poplar trees” (v. 2). It doesn’t say they smashed their harps or threw them in the ocean; they hung them up. There’s a sense of God’s presence, of hopefulness that there still is a Zion and a future, even though they’re not there yet.
When we experience pain, we need to give it and the offenses committed against us to the Lord, trusting that in the end He will make all things right.
Make it Personal
Lay all your hurts before the Lord, asking Him to help you trust Him for the future and to one day make all things right.