His Ways Are Not Our Ways
“Never pay back evil for evil to anyone. Respect what is right in the sight of all men. If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men. Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written, ‘Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,’ says the Lord.
But if your enemy is hungry, feed him, and if he is thirsty, give him a drink for in so doing you will heap burning coals upon his head. Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.’” Romans 12:17-21 NASB
When first reading this scripture of God “heaping coals of fire” on the heads of our enemies, it sounds like a great idea! We can trust God to “get ‘em” for us! He says to leave retribution (vengeance) to Him and He will repay. But these burning coals are not to be brought with a vengeance taken into our hands. We are to endeavor to leave all that to God, seeking for peace.
When we show mercy, kindness, and care to our enemies, we are heaping those coals of fire by bringing the fire of His wrath—His great passion— into the situation. We are to get out of the way and watch how God deals with them. We can trust He will, having faith in what we do not yet see. Consider what motivates us to offer food and drink, literally or spiritually, to our enemies. If we are overcoming evil with good, we are doing it in God’s goodness, with His care for all.
We become passionate to do right in God’s eyes regardless of the role of this enemy in our midst. It is a wrong heart motive to apply this scripture to exacting our vengeance on our enemies. God is in charge of any vengeance and His retribution is always just. He knows exactly what our enemies need to change them, now or in the life to come. We must know that God’s wrath is His passion, not His anger. It is indignation against sin, never the sinner.
The root word for “wrath” in Greek is, “orge”, meaning “desire or violent passion.” God is deeply passionate about the world coming to know Him, for all to be reconciled unto His purposes. God is very, very passionate in His great love in redeeming all who miss the mark. He has a fiery passion for everyone to be in a relationship with Him. Oh, how He loves us!
His retribution is perfect, just as He is perfect. He strongly, passionately desires us to receive and walk in the fullness of all Christ has accomplished. Just so, His fiery passion is directed at our external enemies to change them for good, on this side of heaven or in the afterlife. He is promising us that He will deal with our enemies with His redemptive justice and mercy. God is not a man that He can lie!
Our human judgments do get in the way of God’s actions in dealing with our enemies. If we act with vengeful delight in response to our enemies, they cannot see God through the condemnation we’re placing upon them. Our personal loving compassion for others we care about may also get in the way of what God would choose to accomplish. We are not to pray away the fire that God has set to change them though we surely can pray them through it as the holy spirit leads.
When we attempt to rescue others from the fire God’s presence is bringing, we lack understanding of God’s ways. We do ask God to be with everyone from a heart of forgiveness and peace with others, even our enemies, but God knows best what needs to unfold and when. We do not want to get in the way of God’s intentions! We are not to take into our own hands what is only God’s business.
Our Lord’s walk on this earth models this for us. Jesus knew His enemies could only do what His Father allowed them to do. We can be sure it is fitting and does the work He intends. Even when being betrayed and arrested, Jesus said that all He had to do was ask and His Father would send a myriad of angels to rescue Him. That was not God’s plan. He knew His Father was in charge, not those who betrayed Him.
Vengeance is His, so if there is to be punishment, including consequences, He knows what is redemptive for our enemies. How many words have we wasted in our relationships when the other person is unable to hear truth, though it is correct and right? What if the recieving of truth is hindered by impatient, angry, blaming, and even disdainful attitudes in the heart impacting the spirit of our words?
God always sees the thoughts and intents of our hearts when we want others to be punished rather than redeemed. Words are very important but God desires more than words spoken to others. We are to speak truth in love; that is His way. Human vengeance without God’s balance is ineffective and makes things worse, distracting the person from the truth to the vengeful attitudes coming at them. This is only prolonging the issues in the situation.
Yes, indeed, God does tell us in this passage and others to “get out of His way”! Vengeance here is from the Greek word “ekdikos” meaning “carrying justice out.” It includes the intent of punishment, which God is capable of doing when necessary. Father God, Who is love, is carrying out this justice. His vengeance is sure to deal with sin and wrongdoing, and His word is powerful, far different from the angry words that sometimes feels so good to say, but accomplish nothing.
Behavior has consequences and we are not to tempt the Lord by doing something to put Him to the test.
“For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.” Hebrews 4:12 NIV
God does not chastise people because He feels like it, had a bad day, can’t take any more, or all the other reasons we behave to others as we do. His purpose is always to bring about a change, to purify rather than punish. God wastes nothing in His redemptive purpose. He has no need to “pay back” those who harm or wrong us, though He does allow natural consequences to occur. This life is designed to teach us about God through our experiences, including all we suffer.
As we mature in Christ, we recognize God’s work when others wrong us undeservedly. God’s judgment always has the purpose to redeem, flowing from His heart of mercy for a better outcome. His purpose is for our character to be refined as well as for the wrongdoer’s salvation, even if it takes centuries. ire is the purifying presence of God brought upon our enemies’ heads, on their understanding.
God brings the fire of His presence to consume what is not of Him. Of course, nothing can stand in the presence of our Lord without being changed. As Peter stated, our God is a consuming fire. He promises to burn up our dross—everything that is not Him. The author of Psalms 119, believed to be David, stated:
“It was good for me to be afflicted, that I might learn Your statutes.” Psalms 119:71 Berean
No, God’s ways are not our ways, but they can be! We need to consider what is in our hearts as we deal with our enemies, those who come against us or those we love, to hurt and harm us. How shall we deal with those who do love us yet cause wounds and harm? We learn to ask God immediately “What are you trying to teach me? What are the lessons for me in this situation with those against me?”
We surely do not want to miss any of God’s lessons for us when we are dealing with external or, more often, internal enemies to our promised spiritual land. One key lesson from the Lord is to further the lessons about having a heart of forgiveness. The process of forgiveness can be a challenging experience for us Christians, yet our Lord says we are to do so, over and over, many times:
“Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, ‘Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother who sins against me? Up to seven times?’ Jesus answered, ‘I tell you, not just seven times, but seventy-seven times!’” Matthew 18:25 Berean
This number is not a recommendation to count until we get to 77! It is representative of the countless times we are to forgive our brothers in Christ, sometimes harder to do than forgive our enemies! Jesus goes on to share the parable of the Master who loans money to two servants. One is mercifully forgiven when he cannot repay but goes right out to deal harshly with someone who owes him. The Master is most displeased about this!
The other servant, after the Master, dealt graciously with him and forgave his debt, is merciful to his debtors. The unforgiving, merciless servant is then punished by the Master, putting this servant in jail until he pays the last farthing. What judgment we have for others is what God will put on us. The point:
“That is how My heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart.” Matthew 18:34 Berean
God is not pleased with mere words of forgiveness. He desires true forgiveness from the heart. We are debtors who have been forgiven much by our Lord. So, too, should we forgive those who “transgress against us” as the Protestant Lord’s prayer states. The judgment we put on others is how we are judged. God says so. He doesn’t want us to just go through the motions. He wants this forgiveness to be deep within us, a true change in our thoughts and emotions.
God is the only one who can work such a change in wounded hearts and lives, regardless of circumstances. Some err in believing we can harbor unforgiveness and even hate without paying an internal price. When we refuse to forgive our brother in Christ, we are building a prison of our anger and thoughts of revenge, sometimes for many years. Those who have been grievously harmed, suffering great loss, live in perpetual distress in mind and body when they are unable to forgive.
Only God, in His mercy, can work forgiveness in such hearts, reminding us that our Master has graciously and repeatedly forgiven us for our transgressions. Unforgiveness is a robber of peace and love, for sure! Circumstances vary greatly so this is a work that the person takes to God, who can work amazing forgiveness within a believer’s hearts for the most heinous and damaging acts. We know of such saints doing so, in circumstances far beyond what most of us experience.
There are times when we know He says to forgive but honestly, we just don’t want to! We know we are supposed to forgive, but where do we start if we aren’t willing? It’s surprising how many Christians strongly condemn the sins of the flesh yet harbor unforgiveness, resentment, and even bitterness in their hearts towards others. It may seem like forgiveness is letting the other off the hook, excusing or even condoning their behavior.
Sadly, this is not reserved for just our enemies. It’s often found in our hearts towards those we love—our family and friends as well as our brothers and sisters in Christ. Lack of forgiveness brings much harm to human relationships. That’s why God told us to keep our hearts clean, not to go to bed angry, and to prioritize having a pure heart toward others. Every one of us Christians need to exercise our spiritual forgiveness muscles to be ready for implementation!
God has us covered when our hearts do not want to do things His way. When we don’t want to forgive or can’t see our way to do so, we can count on His ability to change our will to match His will:
“...work out your salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure. Do all things without grumbling or disputing; that you may prove yourselves to be blameless and innocent, children of God above reproach in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you appear as lights in the world…” Philippians 2: 12-16 NASB
What great news! When we are not willing, God works on our willingness! He does this when we ask—and sometimes when we don’t because someone else is praying for us. He starts where we are, creating in our hearts a desire to do His will. We may be reluctant, but He is able to change that so we can forgive without grumbling and disputing, ruminating and resenting, rebelling in our hearts about why this happened to us.
We might as well be transparent with the Lord, acknowledging honestly where we are in our hearts. God already knows but we surrender to His inner working when we admit it to Him. Where there is resistance, we ask Him to plant a willingness. There are deep hurts that wound in devastating ways that cannot be rapidly resolved, but we can surrender to His will regardless of our feelings.
We do desire deliverance from our soul’s struggles within but how long it takes depends upon the hardness of our hearts in the situation or relationship as well as the grievousness of the wound. In all circumstances, our will is surrendered to God, becoming an anchor for our soul into God’s will. While our thoughts and emotions may sway the rope back and forth on that anchor, we are sustained in the purpose of forgiveness, having committed to God’s way.
We are to forgive as we have been forgiven–freely, without merit or worthiness, without conditions, as unto the Lord. None of us are deserving of God’s mercy or able to earn His forgiveness. But we use our human reasoning to justify why another does not deserve our forgiveness. We have many reasons, all humanly understandable. We’re still too hurt and angry, we want to protect ourselves from more hurt, we want justice or to see the other suffer before we forgive, it is absolutely unforgivable, they deserve retribution, and on and on.
We learn about the struggle to forgive, finding God’s way instead of holding on to hurts, resentment, anger, unforgiveness or even bitterness. We all have family, friends, teachers and fellow Christians whose behaviors and choices cause undeserved suffering and pain. One cannot be in this world without having incurred offenses.
Yet some people still carry resentment and bitterness about a sibling or parent’s past behavior, cut off or continuing to fume, bringing up old transgressions, still believing they “got away with” something. Yet, unless we see into the heart of the one who hurt us, how can we know what God has done in them? Confusion around the process of forgiveness is very common but be clear about this: when we carry unforgiveness in our hearts, we become the burdened ones, in bondage to our thoughts and emotions.
The guidance of the holy spirit is also necessary when wanting to support others struggling with the directive to forgive. With grievous, deep wounds in this life, a deeply damaged heart may not be ready or able to hear. Just telling someone they should forgive only applies a surface “band-aid” “ to an infected wound without cleaning it out first. It becomes a law rather than a process wrought by the holy spirit.
Yes, forgiveness is God’s command for us, made possible through Jesus Christ our Lord. But He goes beyond the law of forgiveness to creating a heart that forgives. Forgiveness is too important to apply to cover over a festering wound of emotions. We should not lightly or casually say, “Well, you need to forgive” when we have no understanding of the situation, no discernment from the Lord. Horrendous, seemingly unforgivable things happen to others that are far beyond our experiences.
It takes God’s wisdom and time to understand, let alone help others in this process. When we don’t know why such things are happening to a fellow believer, it’s best to stick with what we do know. And we do know that it is not that God does not love them! While children need to be taught forgiveness by word and behavior, mature Christians cannot have the fruit of the spirit fully manifest in their lives with mere spoken words.
And when we are the offended ones, it is even more challenging as the person continues in hurtful ways, showing no remorse. But God does not make any exceptions in His forgiveness policy. His forgiveness is unconditional—no conditions! We do not get a pass on forgiveness because others continue in their hurtful or harmful ways. God may allow or cause the relationship to end as a consequence of the other’s continual harmful behavior but the heart still needs to forgive.
Consider a woman who is in an abusive, violent relationship. There is the daily wear and tear on a person’s entire being of being ridiculed and mistreated, threatened and experiencing physical harm, abandoned and alone. She may have to leave in order to keep herself and her children safe. This is the heart of the matter for Christians who are praying about being seriously mistreated, abandoned, abused or living in violence with no safety within or without. What is God leading them to do, inside their hearts where they listen for His will?
Many would keep such a believer in an unsafe prison to follow the law against separation or divorce. But there is a time when those in prison are set free. God, in His mercy and grace, releases His called and chosen to go further in His purposes. To be truly free, the survivor of abuse and violence needs forgiveness in their heart whether the partner ever knows about it or not.
Forgiveness, however, does not require staying in dangerous situations. God protects the innocent. Those who are victimized by the use of abuse or threat of harm to violently control another are innocent, despite the abuser’s rationale of “Well s/he deserved it. S/he is disrespectful, disobedient, needing to be controlled or corrected. Even some Christian leaders, lacking in discernment and often having no experience in these matters, have directed those who are being abused to stay or return for the sake of the marriage vows.
This is prioritizing the law of staying married over mercy for the one victimized, without mercy or understanding of the victims. This is more often offered by someone who has never been in this position. The key is what the holy spirit directs that person to do, but what a time to lose the spiritual support of those who disagree and judge the victim for leaving. They lack understanding of God’s standard of forgiveness as an inner work that truly frees one internally, whether the relationship is sustained or not. This is God’s business.
While it is God’s ideal that hearts be truly repentant of the harm and hurt caused to another, it is not our job to require this. Perhaps we want the other person to be good and sorry before we extend our mercy and forgiveness, but God’s forgiveness frees us regardless of what the other person’s attitudes may be.
This idea of “earning forgiveness” likely stems from childhood experiences when we are disciplined for wrong and rewarded for right behavior. Most of us experience this at home and at school, so we learn to expect rewards for doing good and punishment for not. There is value and truth in this as children, but as adults, the key is acting to please the Lord, not ourselves:
“The one who sows to please his flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; but the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. Let us not grow weary in well-doing, for in due time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have an opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to the family of faith.” Galatians 6:8-10 Berean
Goodness to all must be done in the spirit. How rapidly might the world change if all of us Christians will endeavor to do good to everyone? It is impossible to sustain goodness in the flesh, though some have a head start with their God-given compassionate nature. Good works done for any other reason than God’s leading, however, are as worthless as sinful or evil works. This is “eating from the tree of good and evil” instead of from “the tree of life.”
As children, and later as adults, we may struggle when this model of reward and consequences doesn’t show up fairly in our lives. We dislike the tests that come when unfair things happen to us that we do not deserve. We may cry out: “It’s not fair!”, not understanding God’s redemptive justice is higher than our ways and our desire for revenge. God does not make His decisions based on what we humans consider fair. This is a hard lesson in God’s kingdom that should be obvious by now.
This continues to come as a disappointing truth for many of us until we understand more about how His ways are not ours. Surely Jesus was treated most unfairly and yet, in His suffering on the cross, He asked the Father to forgive them. He knew they did not know what they were doing, that they were actually fulfilling God’s plan to sacrifice His only son for all. Yet I have Jewish friends who have been persecuted and rejected by Christians, even as children, because Christians blame the Jews for Jesus’ crucifixion.
We desire a word of life, not just of good and evil. Many unbelievers have good hearts that flow out to others without godliness working within. Good and honerable behavior is not exclusive to Christians, though we should be specialists in this. When we grow and change in our understanding of His ways, however, the harvest is spiritual and eternal, to be sure. It may never result in others treating us like we treat them, a disappointing fact of life, but the joy of pleasing the Lord in our well-doing becomes more and more satisfying.
How little do we believers understand the purpose and plan of God when we get stuck in blaming humans for what God did? Ironically, the offender may have totally forgotten what happened, while we continue to ruminate about it. Ever heard someone say, “Every time I think about it, I get mad all over again!”? Well, God can change that! He did say to forgive and forget, as Father God does with us.
We learn not to rehearse our hurts in our own minds, where the battle really starts, nor tell others about the offenses we suffer. We also commit to never bring it up again with the offender, just as God does with us. God understands the many hurts and unfairness all experience in this life. He comforts and directs us, knowing the price we pay for carrying them around.
“For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His loving devotion for those who fear Him. As far as the East is from the West, so far has He removed our transgressions from us.” Psalms 103:11-12 Berean
“I, yes I, am He who blots out your transgressions for My own sake and remembers your sins no more.” Isaiah 43:25 Berean
If God puts our transgressions far away like east from west, He certainly is not taking them out and examining them on a regular basis. He is not warily watching us to see when we do it again or checking if He needs to remind us of our errors and sins. He is certainly not rehearsing our sins when He remembers them no more!
Christians don’t necessarily act as if we believe this about God, but it is what He said. The Hebrew word for “remember” in the scripture from Isaiah is “zakar,” meaning “to mark so as to recognize, to remember in order to mention, mindful, recount, bring, or call to mind, think on.” This is what God is promising never to do when He states unequivocally that He will remember our transgressions no more. Ever. Period.
We are called to be the light of the world, yet unforgiveness and the judgment it feeds are part of what some people hold against Christians – our hateful, poisonous self-righteous attitude toward others. This is not speaking the truth in love! It may be truth, but stems from a different spirit than God’s spirit of love and mercy. It is particularly noted when we Christians are holding forth and judging what we know nothing about.
We all have found ourselves doing this despite knowing it is not to be a part of our Christian walk. There are endless attitudes and assumptions, including stereotypes, that we all have. It’s part of life, how our marvelous our God-given brains work. These biases influence us, knowingly or worse, unknowingly, in our attitudes and behaviors towards others. When we know our biases and submit them to the Lord for cleansing, then our human viewpoint will not negatively impact others in our world.
How beautifully the Lord works within us to have humility in knowing we do not know what it is like for another, even if we think we do! We want to show the light, not display harshness towards others in error. This is when those who do not believe ask, “Where’s the love?” God tells us that it is what comes out of a man that is defiling because it flows from what is in the heart.
Jesus spoke to this when the Pharisees were upset because He and His disciples did not follow the established traditions of the elders. Jesus confronts them about speaking holy words while their hearts are far from Him. Jesus said to the crowd:
“‘Listen and understand. A man is not defiled by what enters his mouth, but by what comes out of it.’ Then the disciples came to Him and said, ‘Are You aware that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this?” But Jesus replied, ‘Every plant that My heavenly Father has not planted will be pulled up by its roots. Disregard them! They are blind guides. If a blind man leads a blind man, both will fall into a pit.’
Peter said to Him, ‘Explain this parable to us.’ ‘Do you still not understand?’ Jesus asked. ‘Do you not yet realize that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and then is eliminated? But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these things defile a man.
For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, and slander. These are what defile a man, but eating with unwashed hands does not defile him.” Matthew 15:10-20 Berean
Jesus was teaching the crowd before Him that the Pharisees had their priorities wrong. They outwardly worshipped God, extolling the many virtues of keeping their rules and traditions, while inwardly, their hearts were full of pride and deceit. Did Jesus love His enemies? Of course! Did He know that most of the Pharisees and elders at the time would not hear or follow Him? Yes, He knew what was in their hearts. He wanted the crowd, as well as His disciples, to understand this.
But Jesus still forgave all, even His enemies. Jesus was delivering a radically different message to the Jews listening to Him. Their religion was based upon following the law of Moses, requiring outward sacrifice and religious customs that were a show of righteousness. But there was no focus on what was in their hearts until Jesus came along. Like many of us when God reveals the ugly things in our hearts, they did not like it at all! They got offended, resisting or denying the truth of their inward condition.
What is in our hearts, when not dealt with by God, eventually comes out as behavior. Yes, God is against the sins of the flesh, but where do they come from? The scribes and Pharisees were the only people Jesus repeatedly chastised and publicly judged. Jesus was ministering a word that exposed what was in their hearts. He neither chastised nor rebuked the sinners who came to Him. In His mercy, He saw all and sinners knew it.
The way of Jesus was to speak a word of power and light, a word of life that changed the course of their lives, freeing them from sin and error. Jesus helds the erroneous or blind leaders of Christians to a higher standard than their followers, because of the authority and power they had. This is spiritual wickedness in high places:
“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can make your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this world’s darkness, and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” Ephesians 6:11-13 Berean
God reminds us that it’s really the spirits within others that have power in this world’s darkness. It’s the spirit of darkness coming from the hearts of those who harm us or those we love. He is clear that there are spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. There are evil spiritual forces working in the heavens, and there are realms of heaven. That’s a lot to consider here, but one thing is certain: it is the spirits that rule in darkness within our enemies and we are at risk of allowing them to grow within us.
His ways certainly are different than our human ways! What about the horrific things that man does to others that is far beyond our human understanding, thankfully remaining completely outside the lives of many of us? We desire justice in this world, but we know that the world is sadly, even horribly, lacking in true and righteous judgment. As our earthly conditions worsen, what is happening in this 21st century sounds a lot like this scripture in Amos.
“It is as if a man runs from a lion [escaping one danger] and a bear meets him [so he dies anyway], or goes home, and leans with his hand against the wall and a snake bites him.” Amos 5:19 NIV
We believers cannot deny that there are terrible things happening in this world, one after the other. Multitudes face danger, death, and loss. More and more are victims of natural disasters. It becomes particularly offensive for Christians to casually and without thought or prayer, provide superficial advice for dealing with extremely adverse circumstances. While being grateful that we are not tested in some ways, we remain humble in realizing we have not dealt with anything close to the challenges of other believers.
Many of us have not been asked to deal with someone who caused a fatal accident that took the life of a loved one, or the murder of a child or family member, or watching lives and homes destroyed by our country’s enemies in times of war, or being tormented and defiled by those who are supposed to love us, or captured and tortured by our enemies. Unless God gives us understanding for such circumstances, we cannot grasp them. It’s best to listen and learn, rather than think we know.
Some say that there are things that are just unforgivable, but God makes no exceptions. There are saints who have deeply suffered and done just that. And when well-meaning Christians attempt to comfort others with platitudes, they end up causing the person, particularly children, to feel misunderstood or confused rather than comforted and supported. How we all require the wisdom of God when interacting with those who are angry and suffering unspeakable pain and loss!
Sometimes we rush to this response because it is too difficult for us to hear about such experiences but silence can be golden! God help us to share scriptures wisely in HIS way—in God’s time, with God’s motivation of love and compassion for the suffering of others. God can work His compassion and understanding for them into our hearts. Though we may never know what it is like to have such things happen, we all do know pain. When offering godly counsel to the deeply wounded, we cannot just give what we think is “good advice.” When we are not led by the Lord, we say unhelpful things, causing further distress.
The wise path is to wait until we know what to say and when to say it. As Ecclesiastes says, there is a season for all things. How the Lord’s heart must grieve to see all of us, including little ones who suffer so much, experience things that so many others cannot even imagine. No one really wants to hear the worst that humans can do to another, particularly to innocent children. But God hears. He knows.
God sends some of His own to be wise counselors who offer comfort and hope His way, not their own ideas and words. We are to handle carefully the precious bruised and broken hearts of others, praying that they will allow God to give them His comfort and rest:
“Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” Matthew 12:20 Berean
We want to be like Him and are able and willing to do so.
“Seek the LORD while He may be found; call on Him while He is near. Let the wicked man forsake his own way and the unrighteous man his own thoughts; let him return to the LORD, that He may have compassion, and to our God, for He will freely pardon.
For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways, for as the heavens are higher than the earth, so My ways are higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts.’” Isaiah 55:6-9 Berean
We continually pray for His will, not ours. God is a Healer of all in every situation when submitted to Him. He is faithful and just to create that same ability that He has: to be willing and then to do His good pleasure by forgiving others. We are just not able to provide true redemptive justice without a change of heart. Laws can’t do it, though they are necessary to protect the innocent.
As our will is submitted to Him, He softens our hardened hearts and changes our emotions to compassion and mercy. He changes our hardened hearts into hearts that are soft, pliable, able to to be written upon with His ways. He is an amazing, incredible God whose ways are not ours until the full redemption of His plan makes us into His image and likeness.