This is a continuation from last devotional. This devotional is a very general analysis of injustice we face and the justice of God. However, there are times when an individual or a group of people are under great danger of abuse. This message may not have what you need, so I encourage you if you are in a abusive situation, please contact your pastor or your local police.
5. Don’t let injustice affect your love for God. We have to stand in the place of humility and say “Lord if you’re not going to deal with it right away, I still trust you and love you, and I know you have the best for me. You don’t love the perpetrator more than me or have turned the other way”.
6. Love the one who has been unjust. We need to ask the Lord to help us love this person, to forgive them and leave the consequences in His hands. This doesn’t make their behavior ok, but it releases us from carrying the burden and the yoke of their injustice.
7. Guard your heart. Injustice can create great offense in our hearts. This closes our hearts towards people. It can cause distrust, suspicion, and even make us cynical. It can make us shut down. This is another battle that has to be fought. We need to use wisdom and watch that our hearts don’t become hardened by offense and others’ sin. The scripture tells us, “for the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God”. James 1:20 When we get angry and frustrated, we are out of line and out of God’s will and authority to deal with the situation.
8. Choose God over injustice. We have to determine in our hearts that if I have to choose between the Lord and fighting injustice in a situation, I will choose God. I will surrender my rights to defend myself or fight for myself, and I will allow the Lord to vindicate me. If injustice makes us lose our focus from the Lord by seeking our rights or desiring to settle matters, then seeking justice is an idol that has become a stronghold in our lives. While justice in and of itself is God’s desire, but only within the confines of His word and His will. Otherwise it is out of order and can take over our emotions, actions, and dominate us terribly!!!
9. Jesus saw injustice around him all the time. He saw how the governmental leaders had put the people in bondages. He saw the religious leaders causing injustice in people’s lives by proudly thinking they were better than others. While he addressed these issues a few times that was not his focus. He didn’t even want people to have to choose between him and the other leaders. His focus was to do God’s will by showing humility, tenderness, and peace in the midst of all the injustice and ultimately to die for our sins.
10. Jesus wasn’t changed because of injustice. Jesus’ knowledge of God was so profound that the religious leaders could not mar the image of God and His love for Jesus. He always spoke and lived from the position of the Father’s love and the Father’s will. Not the other way around. He never acted or said He was oppressed because He had given Himself to the father’s will. He wasn’t forced into it. That’s the key. Oppression is an act of a person or people upon others against their will. However, the moment you decide you are submitting to the acts of injustice, you are free from oppression!! Daniel experienced this, and so did Joseph. This is where victory has been achieved. We spend most of our time either being held to the bondage of oppression, or being disappointed with God. We want God to change our circumstances, and it causes us to become bitter because He doesn’t. We can even get angry when we see others in oppression.
I believe we have been called to fight oppression in our own lives as well as in the lives of others. However, there is a time and place where we have to surrender ourselves to it as well. When do we know what to do?
A) Come from God’s perspective not from your own emotional experience. Stay steady. Don’t be tossed to and fro by the situation.
B) Be willing to say “yes” to whatever God says is ok even if it doesn’t seem fair to you, or it doesn’t support your view. If you already have your mind set on a certain position, it is a lot harder to hear the Lord and gain His perspective on it. Give time for the Lord to form your perspective or position.
C) Don’t shop for answers because those who love you will tell you that you deserve better.
The Lord’s focus is what you need! Don’t focus on what you think you deserve. While sometime it seems harsh, the injustice is cutting away those things that are not of Him, so we can look more like Him.
D) Speak on injustice with love and meekness. You may or may not be received, but as believers who stand for truth and righteousness, we are called to speak the truth as the Lord leads us.
E) Leave the results with the Lord. There will be times that it will feel that the Lord doesn’t care or He is allowing injustice, mockery, or oppression to go on. We don’t know what the Lord is doing in those times as it is hidden from us. We have to believe what the Bible says about the Lord in those times. Proverbs 11:1 states, “Dishonest scales are an abomination to the LORD, But a just weight is His delight.” He hates dishonest and false evaluation of things. I should only hate it because the Lord hates it and he has put the same thing in my heart. I can’t hate more than He hates and I can’t love more than He loves. Also, I can’t do more than what He wants me to do. He has a plan and I just need to walk in His plan. The final analysis belongs to the Lord!!