In this episode, Catherine reflects on 1 Peter 2:23 and Jesus' example of responding to insult and injustice without retaliation. Instead of seeking revenge, Jesus entrusted Himself to the Father, showing us that true strength is found in mercy, not payback. Catherine explores why holding onto anger and offense keeps us spiritually stuck and how choosing forgiveness doesn't excuse wrongdoing—it sets us free. If you've been hurt, misunderstood, or tempted to get even, this episode offers a practical and hope-filled invitation to experience the peace that comes from entrusting justice to God. Music: "Adding the Sun" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Mercy Sets You Free
1 Peter 2:23 “When he was insulted, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly.”
I think today’s scripture is a great reminder that just because someone did something to us doesn’t mean we need to do it back to them. This is something my kids seem to struggle with. If someone does something to them, they want “payback.” One of my sons especially. If someone cuts him off, he will go out of his way to cut that person off. If he feels like they were unkind to him, then he wants to be unkind right back. I know he is not alone. This is the society we live in.
We are so quick to take offense at everything that everyone says. If a co-worker is unkind to us, we take offense and want to retaliate. We have all heard people say that we should retaliate because the Bible says, “An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.” (Exodus 21:24) However, do you know what else it says in the Bible? Matthew 5:38-42 says, “You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’ But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also. And if anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, hand over your coat as well. If anyone forces you to go one mile, go with them two miles. Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.”
We are so quick to take offense and so quick to want revenge. We live in a world where we are told we can’t be weak. We can’t let people walk all over us. We should think about ourselves first. We need to take what we want. I think we have gone too far in one direction. I do think it is important not to let people walk all over you and to stand up for yourself. I do not think we always have to take revenge. Scripture tells us over and over again in the Bible that we are to love our neighbor. It even tells us to love our enemy. Scripture also tells us over and over again to forgive our neighbor and our enemy.
What if we led our lives with forgiveness? What if we stopped taking offense and realized that most everything that other people do has nothing to do with us and everything to do with them. People do not cut us off in traffic because they are trying to be mean to us. They are cutting us off in traffic because they are so focused on where they are going that they aren’t paying attention to the other cars. If people are being unkind to us, it is usually because they are having a bad day, or something is going on in their life, and they are taking it out on us. I am not saying those things are ok for other people to do. I just don’t think responding in the same manner is going to make us feel any better.
Jesus consistently chose mercy instead. Again and again, He was misunderstood, mocked, falsely accused, betrayed, and treated unjustly. And yet, He did not respond the way we expect power to respond. He didn’t rush to defend Himself. He didn’t demand vindication. He didn’t strike back. Instead, He trusted the Father.
Today’s Scripture tells us that “When he was insulted, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly.”
That last phrase matters deeply. Jesus didn’t ignore injustice — He entrusted it. Mercy, for Jesus, wasn’t passive. It was an active decision to place justice in the Father’s hands rather than carrying it Himself.
Mercy Is Not Excusing Wrong — It’s Choosing Freedom
One of the reasons mercy feels so hard is because we confuse it with excusing behavior. We think: If I show mercy, I’m saying what they did was okay.
If I don’t retaliate, I’m letting them win. But Jesus shows us something different.
Mercy is not about denying that harm occurred. Mercy is about refusing to let another person’s sin control our inner life. When we retaliate — even internally — we stay emotionally tied to the offense. Our peace becomes dependent on apology, acknowledgment, or change. Mercy breaks that tie. It says, “What you did matters, but it will not rule me.”
Jesus models this most clearly from the cross. In Luke 23:34, while being crucified unjustly, Jesus says: “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”
This is not weakness. This is strength rooted in absolute trust. Jesus did not need to retaliate to prove injustice existed. He didn’t need to punish to validate His pain. He trusted the Father to see fully and judge rightly. Choosing mercy over retaliation always feels risky because retaliation gives us a sense of control. Mercy requires surrender. Jesus shows us that true righteousness is not about reacting quickly — it’s about trusting deeply.
Romans 12:19 tells us: “Do not avenge yourselves… but leave room for the wrath of God.” That verse doesn’t tell us injustice doesn’t matter. It tells us we don’t have to carry the burden of making things right. Mercy frees us from the exhausting work of holding onto offense.
What This Means for Us Practically
Following Jesus’ example doesn’t mean:
staying in unsafe situations
removing healthy boundaries
pretending harm didn’t happen
It means this: we stop letting someone else’s wrongdoing determine our peace, posture, or identity.
Mercy is choosing to remain free even when someone else remains wrong.
I have done many episodes about forgiveness. This is because I don’t think we all understand how important forgiveness is. We think that our anger and unforgiveness, our need for revenge, is not hurting anyone. We are wrong. It is hurting us in more ways than we know. It hurts our relationship with God. It blocks healing; it blocks mercy and grace. It keeps us stuck where we are. It holds us captive, like prisoners, to the thoughts and events surrounding that anger and unforgiveness.
I invite you to sit with this verse today, or sometime this week. I invite you to bring it to the Lord and ask Him what He wants you to do with it. Ask Him to highlight the ways in which you are holding onto anger and unforgiveness instead of entrusting it to him. When we release anger, we are not giving power away — we are taking it back.
We are choosing:
peace over reactivity
identity over insecurity
freedom over control
In John 8:36, Jesus says: “So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.”
That freedom includes freedom from being ruled by offense.
Dear Heavenly Father, I ask you to bless each person listening to this episode today. Lord, you are amazing! You are our one true God, and we love you. Lord, help us to see where in our lives we are being held captive by anger or unforgiveness. Help us to see any patterns of offense that we might have and help us break free from them. Help us to be more forgiving and more loving to all those we meet. Help us not to seek revenge or retaliation, but instead help us to stop and say a quick prayer for that person instead. Not because that person deserves the prayer, but because we deserve the freedom that comes from not holding onto anger and unforgiveness. Please help us, Lord! We love you, and we ask all of this in accordance with your will and in Jesus’s holy name, Amen!!
Thank you so much for joining me on this journey to walk boldly with Jesus. If you are struggling with your job, with your family or friends, or just with life in general. I want to invite you into my mentoring community. It is a place where you can learn to lean more into the Lord and build your relationship with him, one block at a time. Also, you will be with an amazing group of individuals who are warm and welcoming and struggling just like we all are. There are no perfect people in mentoring. Just those of us who are trying to love God better and to live our lives more in alignment with Him instead of the world. Click on the link below for more info, or sign up today, and you could be joining us on Zoom tomorrow. Remember, Jesus love you just as you are, and so do I! Have a blessed day!
Today’s Word from the Lord was received in January 2026 by a member of my Catholic Charismatic Prayer Group. If you have any questions about the prayer group, these words, or how to join us for a meeting, please email CatholicCharismaticPrayerGroup@gmail.com. Today’s Word from the Lord is, “Take my hand, my children, and I will guide you to where you should go. Do not doubt where I bring you. It may be a place that you do not like, but I know what is best for you.”