Tag: Justice

Keep Waiting, You Have Not Been Abandoned

Patience my friend. It is not easy to wait. We are a restless people. Today especially, we live in a world of almost instant response, and things are only getting faster. With AI, we are able to accomplish things so much faster and this is diminishing the value of patience.

With our LORD, we must be patient. He works on His timeline and not ours. No amount of AI is going to get us to heaven any faster. Our deliverance will come when the LORD means for it and not a moment sooner or later. We may feel as though He is not listening or has left our presence, but He has not. The LORD has not abandoned us, no matter what we might be told.

“14For the Lord will not forsake his people;

he will not abandon his heritage;

15for justice will return to the righteous,

and all the upright in heart will follow it.”

— Psalm 94:14-15 (ESV)

Psalm 94 is titled in my ESV Bible, “The LORD will Not Forsake His People”, but nowhere in the chapter is it mentioned when. The psalmist just advises us to wait and that the LORD will deliver. This falls directly into what we know about the LORD and His timeline. We just don’t know. We are not in the loop as to when or how things will happen. We only trust that they will as we continue doing the work of the LORD.

I must admit that I am patient with some things and impatient with others. I have had to learn patience and trust that things will be done in the right time. I get frustrated when things do not go the way that I have planned them and then I remember that the LORD has a plan for all things and that plan has a timeline. I have to remember also to keep working for the LORD and know that I am to wait on Him and He will deliver me.

Verses 14 and 15 above are so right for you and me to study and remember. “The LORD will not forsake his people” and “justice will return to the righteous”. As for when, we do not know. We continue to wait, doing the work assigned, and know that we have not been abandoned or forsaken.

How patient are you? Are you constantly working to get things done in the now? What if you were to continue waiting on and working for the LORD, knowing that He has not abandoned you and that “justice will return” when the LORD decides?

Steer Clear of Revenge

This morning my study of the word “will” continues and I am lead to Proverbs 20 where I find a quick verse related to what I believe is revenge and the need to avoid.

“22Do not say, ‘I will repay evil’;

wait for the Lord, and he will deliver you.”

— Proverbs 20:22 (ESV)

The thing is that there is also that when wrong is committed against one, their should be justice in kind. Isn’t this a bit of conflicting information found in God’s Word?

“23But if there is harm, then you shall pay life for life, 24eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, 25burn for burn, wound for wound, stripe for stripe.” – Exodus 21:23-25

NO it is not. You see, the in kind justice is just that, justice. In the time of Exodus, the justice was delivered through the justice system of the time. Just as it is today in this world. Justice is delivered through out court systems and following the strict laws of man accordingly.

When I am looking at the verse from Proverbs, I see justice to be carried out by the judge, God. I have to look back at realities that I am not to judge and that I am to leave that up to the LORD to take care. Whether or not someone committed evil against me is not for me to retaliate. I am to give such things to the LORD and give Him glory and honor, knowing and understanding that He will deal with the evil.

Here is the rub that, when I look inward, really gets me through this process of giving things to the LORD for His justice to be delivered. Not only was I wronged by evil and the evil action done to me, but I got my feelings hurt and want an irrational response to get back at the evil. I want to have the evil repaid with evil that was done to me. I want revenge or to avenge. I am not in the mood to wait for the LORD to take action over the course of time, and maybe even after I am long gone. I felt pain and I want to witness the pain inflicted back.

But, I have to remember that the LORD has a plan and my timing is not in line with His. He had a reason to allow the evil to impact me. He has a plan to deal with the evil. He is the judge and will deliver the justice that is deserved and that is in line with His plan. I am to give it all to Him and allow Him to deliver the justice that is due. I have to remember that it is His wrath that I have been saved from and that sin (evil done to me) will feel the weight of His wrath in the end.

Yes, I know that the pain of the evil done will affect the way I think, but I am to steer clear of revenge and love. I am to display love and give the delivery of justice to the LORD and allow Him to do so in His way and in His time. He will deliver me from the pain and fill me with His glory to be shown to the world.

What is your approach when you experience evil done to you? Do you go to the seeking revenge? What if you opened your heart and allowed love out, turning things over to God so that He can deliver the justice according to His plan?