WEDNESDAY’S WORD – REPAY – 11/15/17 – Sadell Bradley – New Life Covenant Cincinnati

because gratitude is a burden and revenge a pleasure.” – Tacticus

Have you ever loaned someone money and it took them longer than agreed upon to REPAY?  How did you feel? What kind of straits did their lack of ability to pay back the loan, debt or sum of money, have on your life and your relationship? Was it awkward when you saw them? If you owed the money, did you feel a sense of guilt and shame? The Bible says, “The wicked borrow and never repay, but the godly are generous givers.” (Psalm 37:21, NLT) Lending money to someone causes an awkward master/slave relationship, even among friends because …the borrower is servant to the lender. (Prov. 22:7) Repaying, or being repaid brings freedom to both parties to get past the debt and restore right relationship. 

Sometimes we want payback for something  horrible that has been done to us, or for something that should have happened but didn’t.  The Bible calls that RECOMPENSE. It means to make amends to someone for a loss or harm suffered; to compensate. The fact that you’re owed something, particularly if everyone around you knows it, can bring as much shame as being in debt. You, your family and your friends are all looking to see when things are going to turn around. When will you get what you’re owed? The wait can be tormenting, and sometimes we want to take matters into our own hands. It’s good to know that God has a repayment plan! He commands us, “Do not avenge yourselves, beloved, but leave room for God’s wrath. For it is written: “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” (Romans 12:19)

When you’ve been waiting for any kind of debt to be repaid, one of the collateral losses is time. The time you spent depressed. The time regretting dreams you could have accomplished. The

time missed with loved ones. It doesn’t matter that the LORD may have initiated the loss, or that He can turn things for good (Rom 8:28). We think time cannot be repaid, but GOD COLLAPSES TIME and redeems it for His glory! In Joel 2, God proclaimed a judgment over Israel that would cause them to lose the land’s harvest via devouring swarms of locusts. The devastation would cause them to turn back to Him in repentance and cry out for Him to relent and send a blessing. When they did, He replied with compassion and a declaration of restoration, including the comforting statement, “I will repay you for the years the locusts have eaten...You will have plenty to eat, until you are full, and you will praise the name of the Lord your God, who has worked wonders for you; never again will my people be shamed.” (vs. 25-26) If you’ve lost years, look forward to God’s repayment! God holds our times in His hands!