Trust God --- And Move On
“You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’ But I tell you, Do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if someone wants to sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. If someone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one wants to borrow from you.” -- Matthew 5:38-42
Get over it. Move on. Let it go. Give it to God.
The words threaten to spill out of my tightly closed mouth. I’m just so tired of hearing about things that happened many, many years and numerous church families ago. But they can’t seem to let it go. They can’t seem to get past perceived wrongs. They can’t seem to stop trying to control something they never should have tried to control in the first place.
It’s tearing them up inside. And driving people away, though they’re too blind to see that. Because we all need to move on and trust that God will handle whatever situation needs to be handled, in whatever way He decides is best.
Ah. There’s the real trouble. They’re afraid that God won’t handle it in the way they think He should. In fact, I haven’t heard them mention God at all. I doubt they’ve even considered His views on the subject. They’re so busy offering their own that I’m not sure He has ever crossed their minds.
I want to urge them to take a deep breath and pray about it. I suspect my advice wouldn’t even register in their hardened hearts. They’re too focused on revenge. They’re too determined to right that perceived wrong from many years ago.
Are you holding on to a grudge from your past? Are you still angry at something you believe someone else did to you? Are you spending your moments focused backward rather than celebrating today? Maybe a little more time in the Word would create a lot less time to focus on revenge.
We don’t want to remember what Jesus said about revenge. We’d rather quote the Old Testament and demand justice -- in our time and in the way of our choosing. We don’t want to love our enemies. And we certainly don’t want to give them more than they’ve already taken.
But isn’t that exactly what we do when we can’t let go of the past? We’re giving them our time, our present and possibly our future. We’ve giving them our peace. And we’re letting them destroy our faith and trust in God, knowing that He saw what happened and that He’ll take care of it -- in His way and in His time.
Revenge is never about God. It’s always about us. And that’s a recipe for disaster. So let it go, and let God. Trust God. And move on.
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