The Lord is a God of justice, and He sent His son to bring forth true justice on the earth. This was Jesus’ purpose. Let’s look at the below scriptures
“Behold! My Servant whom I uphold,
My Elect One in whom My soul delights!
I have put My Spirit upon Him;
He will bring forth justice to the Gentiles.
2 He will not cry out, nor raise His voice,
Nor cause His voice to be heard in the street.
3 A bruised reed He will not break,
And smoking flax He will not quench;
He will bring forth justice for truth.
4 He will not fail nor be discouraged,
Till He has established justice in the earth;
And the coastlands shall wait for His law.” Isaiah 42:1-4
True justice can be accomplished only by the one who sees the whole situation, understands all sides, and has no bias in His view. That’s why the scripture is very clear about not judging situations prematurely. Many times, we only know part of the story, or we have a vested interest on one side. That makes us unqualified to be a fair judge. On the other hand, God is holy. He loves everyone, He is not partial and knows all sides. He is the perfect judge, and He is a merciful father! That’s a beautiful combination that keeps us in awe of Him, but it also gives us comfort and security.
The Justice and the mercy of God demonstrated themselves beautifully in Jesus Christ and Him being crucified, so the justice of God was met through His mercy!! Where there is no justice, oppression is the order of the day. People are in bondage to the yoke of slavery, fear of man or to a system.
In Isaiah 58:6 the scripture tells us:
“Is this not the fast that I have chosen:
To loose the bonds of wickedness,
To undo the heavy burdens,
To let the oppressed go free,
And that you break every yoke?”
The Lord wants to set us free completely. God also requires us to be just people. We all desire justice and fairness in life. We abhor injustice and partiality. The reality is that the issue of injustice is not going away, so how do we deal with it?
1. We can’t look at injustice the way the world does. According to Isaiah 58 we can live life free from oppression or bondage because we belong to Jesus. If I have not been given a place, position, or power to change the unjust situation, I can say, “Lord you are allowing this, so I submit to it”.
2. We don’t have to be afraid of injustice. God used the greatest injustice in the perfect man, Jesus, to become a sin offering. This illustrates how injustice in the hand of the Lord can be redeemed and can bring forth life giving eternal fruit.
3. Don’t allow injustice or the unjust person to define who you are. This really should be true in any situation. We have to be insulated from the world or people’s definition of us. We belong to the Lord and anything that doesn’t line up with the word of God for our lives; we can’t allow it to define us. For example, having grown up in a culture where males were preferred, that was unjust and wrong. I can’t let that define my identity and who I am. The Lord calls us His sons and daughters and he doesn’t see us through the eyes of favoritism. I have to stand on God’s word rather than on the voice of the culture or family members. This is where faith has to conquer injustice. The injustice cannot be changed by us, but we can stop allowing it to keep us in its grip!!
4. Recognize God is merciful and patient, and he desires for no one to perish. However, He also sees everything and justice is in His hands. If God is not dealing with it right away it doesn’t mean He doesn’t care or He is passive. He knows how to deal with each situation at the right time. For instance, Noah took 100 years to build the ark while wickedness was going on that whole time. Jesus cleared the temple where it had been turned into a money making business center. The temple had been having that business going on in it for decades or centuries until such a time that Jesus, led by God dealt with it very strongly!!
We will continue with this subject in the next devotional. In the meantime, ask the Lord to examine your heart for any areas that you have been dealt with unjustly and allow the Lord to minister to you. Ask Him to give you a new perspective about the situation or the person involved.