When You’ve Been Done Wrong

Do you not say, “I will repay evil”; wait for the Lord, and he will save you.

Proverbs 20:22

How easy it is to desire retaliation when we’ve been done wrong. Often, our instinct is to make the person suffer as we have. If someone speaks badly of us, we are tempted to speak badly of them. If someone hurts us in some way, we selfishly desire vengeance.

Proverbs 20:22 gives us a pride-breaking look into the heart of God. We know that vengeance is the Lord’s but we have new insight when we see the focus of this verse. He doesn’t put the focus on the one who has committed the evil, but rather he puts it back on us.

He says, “When evil is done to you don’t repay it with evil, but wait on the Lord WHO WILL SAVE YOU!

We naturally want this to say, “Wait for the Lord who will make them pay for what they have done!” But God is showing concern for our response to others. Of course he will take care of his children and will respond to those who have mistreated us… yet with grace. God gives us a warning to guard our hearts by waiting on him to rescue us from not only evil, but from ourselves.

If you’ve been wounded, lied to, manipulated, attacked, or mistreated in any way, put your efforts into waiting on the Lord to save YOU. Don’t respond quickly. Don’t speak hurtful words out of anger. When pain breaks you and the enemy tries to push his way into your heart, resist him by trusting in the Lord. Don’t allow your heart to go into a dark place filled with punitive plans for someone else. He will take care of the problem… but His heart today is to take care of you! Wait for the Lord, and He will save you!

26 “In your anger do not sin”: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry,27 and do not give the devil a foothold.

Ephesians 4:26-27