Welcome back to “Friday Feature!” Grab a cup of coffee, relax, and enjoy today’s devotion! If you missed last week’s devotion, you can read it here! (I can’t believe we are at week 20!! Just a side-note…I have enjoyed these devotions from you all more than I can say!)
Olivia Collingsworth brings us today’s devotion titled, “Do not Repay Evil for Evil.” As many of you know, Olivia sings with her family, @thecollingsworthfamily. She is also a talented guitarist. Aside from her musical talents, Olivia is a fashion blogger, makeup artist, and coffee lover. Most recently, she started her very own YouTube channel! Subscribe to her channel here! Olivia Collingsworth From Q&A’s to ‘Pie in the Face’ with her sweet niece Emma, you will not want to miss any of her videos! I’ve had the privilege to meet Olivia several times over the years. I love how she and her entire family are so down-to-earth. I always love when they come to Georgia on tour! Give Olivia’s IG page a follow! @oliviadianec
Do not Repay Evil for Evil
Have you ever had somebody say something to you that deeply wounded/hurt you? Yeah, I’ve been there too and I think most of us have been. My first tendency is to be angry and defensive, I feel like I need to stick up for myself because this person is being so unfair! It’s also always easy to take this problem and start spewing it to my friends and family and tell them how terrible this person is. Unfortunately, us women have a knack for that! LOL I am so young and don’t claim to know it all, (or even very much) but if I could give any advice it would be to always take these things to Jesus first, before we ever mention a word of it to another human being!
We shouldn’t slander this person for the things they have said. We are called to forgive them, just as Jesus has forgiven us. I don’t know about you, but that is a hard one for me. It’s easy to hang on to things, but this little saying that my mom has always told me has helped me with forgiving people that say hurtful things. “Hurting people, hurt people” This made me realize that their harsh words are coming from a place of hurt in their own life and It actually made me have compassion on them.
Pour your heart out to Jesus and tell him all your thoughts and feelings! Ask Him how you should respond and He will give you the strength to either walk away or give a much more gracious and kind response! I’ve had to learn this the hard way, but I know from experience that His way is best! “Do not repay evil for evil or insult for insult. On the contrary, repay evil with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing.” 1 Peter 3:9
~Olivia~