Deuteronomy 32: 35, 41
Vengeance is Mine, and retribution, in due time their foot will slip; for the day of their calamity is near, and the impending things are hastening upon them.
When I sharpen my flashing sword, and My hand lays hold on justice, I will render vengeance on My adversaries, and repay those who hate Me.
God says that vengeance belongs to Him. Whenever we want to "get even" or "get back" at our adversaries, we are taking what belongs to God.
We can't handle it, it's way too powerful and dangerous to our psyches. It would make us bitter, negative people who can't receive any of God's goodness into our lives.
God is the only One Who can safely administer that kind of justice. And He will. He will even all the odds, pay back every debt, settle every dispute. We can trust Him to take care of all of it.
Our part is to love those people back to God, so that they will realize what harm they've done, repent, and turn their lives around. And if they don't, we are to love them anyway, and persevere in praying for them.
I was one who did much harm to people's relationships and marriages. I deserved great retribution. But God had pity on me, drew me to Himself, and let me know that my debt was paid in full.
That's when I became a Christian, a "little Christ." Jesus took my place, in taking upon Himself the death I deserve, and then God wiped my debt out of His Book, washed me in the Blood, and made me completely clean and pure; and gave me His own Holy Spirit to live in my spirit to seal me as His own. Now nothing can separate me from His love (see Romans 8:35-39), His Seal will hold me firmly in His grasp, to never again be "lost."
God will save every person who realizes they need Him, and turn around to seek Him (John 3:16-17). No matter how far they have strayed, how wicked their deeds have been, how many lives they have destroyed; if they come to know that they deserve God's wrath and repent, then God will let them know that He put all His wrath they deserve on Jesus on the Cross. That's why He was born.
But we must put from our thinking any ideas that we want to punish someone who has hurt and harmed us. God has forgiven us, and He wants us to forgive others, too. It's not easy, but with His help, we can. It may take time, and we may need to forgive them repeatedly, but we must persevere; and when you can think of that person and what they did without any more pain, then you will be free of that millstone around your neck!
We don't forgive for their benefit, but for our own. To hold on to it only hurts us further, without touching them. That's why we need to keep on forgiving every time we remember it.
I hope those families that I harmed all those years ago were able to let that negativity go. There's nothing I can do now except to pray for them. They're in God's hands. I trust Him to do what is Right for all of us, so I don't need to worry.
If you find yourself holding on to some grudge against someone who genuinely harmed you, then decide to free yourself and let it go.
You won't be sorry--you'll be free!
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
