“The love of a family is life's greatest blessing”

Friday, February 3, 2012

Refusing to Retaliate

I started reading a book titled Dealing with Injustice.  All of us have been through something in our lives that we do not understand, some more than others.  Most of us , when bad things happen or people hurt us we chose to try and get back at that person and try to hurt them too.  It's human nature, it's normal.  If you hurt me , I will hurt you.  It takes alot for me to retaliate, I mean you have to really do something very very hurtful to me before I will want to get back at you and trust me I have gotten to this point a couple times in my life.  The point when you ask God, "WHY GOD, WHY"??   God has his reasons for everything, he knows whats going to happen long before it actually does. It's hard to understand how God is going to turn something so hurtful into something good.  Sometimes you have to wait a long time to figure it out, I am still waiting however I know that God will show me in his time why certain things have happened and he is going to turn all that hurt and pain into something amazing.  


Injustice is something everyone has to deal with.  It's not the injustice but our response to it that determines the effect it has on us.  I have not handle any of mine the way God would have me to, and actually I am still very bitter and angry over many injustices in my life.  I do believe I refused to retaliate however the bitterness and anger is eating me up inside.  Bitterness is like a weed, if you allow it to stay it will keep growing and spreading.  If you only destroy some of the weed and you do not take out the entire root then it will eventually grow back.  I haven't destroyed the root!  I have only dealt with the things on the surface.  I need to let God take out the roots, but once you have this anger and bitterness for so long it becomes a part of you.  God tells us we should forgive and once we do we should not dwell on it any longer.  In the book I am reading they give a definition of forgiveness , "Forgiveness is releasing your right of retaliation".  When you forgive you are not saying what happened was right or that you don't deserve the retaliation you are simpling saying that you have given up your claim to get even and that you are trusting God to handle it.  It is so hard to do this and I am still working on pulling out that root.  I do think alot about it though and all the energy it takes to be angry and bitter all the time.  God says in Romans 12:19 "Vengeance is mine, I will repay."  In other words, whatever the sin is , it will not go unpunished.  He will make sure of that.  I think about this verse alot and I tell myself, I can refuse to retaliate because God is going to do that for me and somehow this verse always makes me smile.


This is a great book I am reading.  God says "offences will come", and this book helps you understand how to handle them.  We all have been offended one way or the other.  Big or small there are basically only two ways we can handle it, face them head on with the Bible close to you and Gods word in your heart  and refuse to retaliate or throw up your hands and hurt back.  Both of these chooses are very hard, but remember God says ,yes I know they hurt you and I am sorry, refuse to retaliate , forgive and let me take care of the rest.  


This book made me do alot of thinking.  Good Luck my friends, let's try and refuse to retaliate!!  Love to all :)

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