TGFABT – Psalm 35

Revenge is Best Served by God

“Contend, O Lord, with those who contend with me; fight against those who fight against me.”
Psalm 35: 1

After we ask God to fight for us our response is to:

  • Resist the mob mentality. (V4)
  • Respond to the Holy Spirit’s work in our life (V5)
  • Remain humble (V8)
  • Represent truth (V11b)
  • Remember revenge is the Lord’s (V12)

Truth Tuesday
When I stay focused on the Lord, my enemy appears powerless.

Word Study

“May those who delight in my vindication shout for joy and gladness; may they always say, “The Lord be exalted, who delights in the well-being of his servant.”
Psalm 35:27
This scripture amazes me. David is asking for all the glory of his vindication go to God.  He wants no credit or freedom to say, “I told you I was innocent.”  He wants God exalted.  The transliteration of the word exalted. It means to magnify, grow larger, or become great.
David is hiding in caves in the Wild Crags, running for his life. He does not want his enemies to make him bigger in the light of his vindication. He wants his enemies to make his God bigger. He wants them to make God great, not him. What humility!!!

Thankful Thursday

“You hem me in–behind and before; you have laid your hand upon me.” Psalm 119:5
“The LORD your God is going ahead of you. He will fight for you, just as you saw him do in Egypt.” Deuteronomy 1:3
The Lord went before me and hemed me in regards to matter I faced last weekend.  The pain is still there but it is covered with peace.  I am thankful today for your prayers and God’s promises.

Faith Stretching/Strengthening

Trusting God to contend with those who contend against me.

12 Comments

  1. Over the past years I have learned to Let Go and Let God. It is difficult to not seek revenge on people who have hurt me deeply. I have learned to forgive and let God be there judge and jury. It is not easy but I work on this and pray for each situation in my life. I don’t ever want to go back to the mob mentality that I grew up with!

  2. Mob mentality is running rampant these days all over the world. Sometimes it is very hard to not get caught up in it. It saddens me to see all the violence and hate that is dispersed daily.
    I hope that if, God forbid, true violence or hatred affects me personally I will be able to follow Gods word and David’s example. I wonder about that…
    I hate confrontation of any type. I avoid it at all costs.but I will defend myself if necessary. I pray for those who have wronged me. I know God has my back and will serve me well.

  3. Loved going back verse by verse through I Samuel. What an awesome reminder to deal with those who hurt and offend us in a godly way and trust God to deal with them. I loved that David listened to the Holy Spirit and did the right thing. I wonder how often I have missed an opportunity for others to see Jesus by not listening to the Holy Spirit and not responding in a godly, humble way. I also loved her warning about the mob mentality. I have been on the receiving end of the mob mentality but I am sad to say I have also been a part of the mob mentality. What heartache and guilte that leaves behind. I am grateful for a gracious forgiving God and pray He help me learn from my mistakes. May I be more like David when it comes to those who hurt me.

  4. Truth is I am to do the right thing despite what others do. Revenge is best served by God!

  5. Truth is I too have been part of the mob mentality. In my family I always called it a shark fest! People chewing each other up and disowning them. I have worked hard over the years to let go and Let God. I have to let him handle revenge. It only destroys our heart if we don’t.

  6. Truth is I have been blessed to trust God in these “revenge” opportunities. He has worked out miracles in my family. And when those moments resurface when I could “bite” hard, God on my heart helps me to bite my tongue instead and trust HIM.. I have to admit God has blessed me with some amazing friends who hold me accountable to allowing God to work in my life and an incredible husband who has shown me so much grace, it does encourage me to do the same in many areas of my life. Love this study~

  7. Loved the word study. When I looked up multiple versions, many use the word magnify. Love David’s humility and His desire to magnify the Lord. You may remember from
    Ps. 34:3- “Oh, magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt his name together!” May we magnify the Lord today as He places others in our path. May each of them see Him in us!

  8. Magnify is my favorite word this week. As God gets bigger in my life I allow him to handle the revenge I used to handle myself and stepping back to let him do this has brought me more peace. Just like Sherri, I have learned to bite my tongue and I am still a work in progress.

  10. As I re -ead the Psalm this morning, Psalm 17 stood out. I am so thankful we can trust in God’s timing. No matter what we are enduring or for how long, God will respond when the timinig is perfect!

  11. Thankful that I am improving my attitude towards those who mistreat me. Never was able to even think of doing so in my past. God is my victor!

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