"Vengeance is Mine"

"Your eyes are too pure to look on evil you cannot tolerate wrongdoing.
   Why then do you tolerate the treacherous?
   Why are you silent while the wicked swallow up those more righteous than themselves?"
             Habakkuk 1:13

When I read this, I thought of all the children who suffer at the hands of their "protectors."  Coming from a similar situation, it angers me.  I have often asked God why he doesn't stop the pain and suffering and why he allows his innocent children to be victimized.  It is hard to consider that God doesn't care about the suffering of his children, after all He sent His Son so that all may commune with Him eternally.  However, it is equally unfathomable that He would allow His innocent children to suffer. 

However, there is a hope.  This hope is voiced in Nahum, one of the minor prophets. 
"The Lord is slow to angerbut great in power; the Lord will not leave the guilty unpunished." (1:3a)

We know the phrase "vengeance is mine, saith the Lord,"  which comes from Romans 12.  However, I always had a hard time with accepting that God would avenge the wrong done to me and to those I knew, but the verse from Nahum gives us more of a hope that we will be avenged.

I do not promote harboring anger or seeking revenge or vengeance for the wrong you've experienced.  Recognizing that God will bring about vengeance is simply a step on the road to healing and forgiveness.  I pray that as you read this God begins your journey to healing.