Honor God - Forget Revenge

In the past couple of days, I've had the chance to read about David’s flight from Saul in 1 Samuel. In that story is the battle that David fought within his own soul, a battle that many people who have been abused and mistreated must fight. It was a very difficult time indeed for David. In 1 Samuel 24:15-16, David makes his stand of faith and honor before the king who has been searching for David in order to kill him: ‘May the LORD be our judge and decide between us. May he consider my cause and uphold it; may he vindicate me by delivering me from your hand.’ When David finished saying this, Saul asked, ‘Is that your voice, David, my son?’ And he wept aloud.

In order to save his own life, David has been running, hiding, and surviving. He has gathered a group of men together who are expecting him to seize the opportunity to rid himself of the king's wrath, and God provides that exact opportunity. So while King Saul is asleep, David sneaks up on him and cuts off a corner of the king’s robe. David may have been tempted, but he did not harm or dishonor the king. And as we read in 1 Samuel 24:15-16, David pleads with Saul and in the end, Saul lifts up his voice and weeps.

David chose to honor the anointing that God had placed upon King Saul and by doing so, David honored God. David had just cause to exact revenge on the king, but he knew that God was in charge of justice. David knew that he could not dishonor King Saul without dishonoring God Who had anointed Saul as king—the same God Who had anointed David to later become king.

If you are being abused, you have every right to find safety, healing, freedom, and peace. You have every right to seek help through the courts, law enforcement, medical teams, psychological services, pastors, teachers, lawyers, and others. You can even e-mail me.

But do not seek revenge. Please make the choice to leave that to God. David could have sought revenge, but instead he chose to honor God and sought peace. When I was a child, I was dishonored by the hour and by the day. I had so many opportunities to dishonor back. But it's important that we honor God with our greatest heartache and fears. It's important that we don't take it upon ourselves to win earthly battles our way because we do not have all the information or facts nor can we read the future. We do not know how our actions may affect the future.

But we do know and can rest assured that God is alive and well, and that He is able to do great things through us if we trust Him. David trusted Him; we should do nothing less. David honored God! Let's give God space to work.