“Put away your sword, Peter” (Matt. 26:52). “It is mine to avenge; I will repay. In due time their foot will slip; their day of disaster is near and their doom rushes upon them… I will take revenge; I will pay them back,” says the Lord. (Rom. 12:19; Deut. 32:35).
Lord Jesus, I know I’m beginning to sound like a broken record. Hospital bombings, whole families shot by snipers, a barrage of lies to the Russian people; space, food, basic supplies for war-refugees becoming scarce. Even people in my own country spinning, normalizing, and minimizing the unconscionable evil in Ukraine, only for the sake of their political agenda. War crimes and political crazy abounding… I am growing increasingly angry, Jesus. I am becoming the hate I hate. I have relished revenge and harm for purveyors of evil.
Jesus, thank you for your commitment to avenge yourself and annihilate evil. Thank you for your commitment to wipe away all tears, put all things right, and to make all things new. Just as in the “fullness of time” you arrived as our Savior (Gal. 4:4), so in “due time,” you will return to eradicate the kingdom of darkness. Please. Make. It. Soon.
Instead of wasting my energy seething, judging, and “taking the political click bait,” help me use that same energy for loving my neighbors, praying without ceasing, and pushing back the effects of the Fall in my community. It’s hard, but it’s right, Jesus. But you never said following you, waiting upon you, and trusting you would be easy. So Very Amen.