Fighting for Justice

Take a look at these words spoken by Jacob to his father-in-law,

"These twenty years I have been with you. Your ewes and your female goats have not miscarried, and I have not eaten the rams of your flocks. What was torn by wild beasts I did not bring to you. I bore the loss of it myself. From my hand you required it, whether stolen by day or stolen by night. There I was: by day the heat consumed me, and the cold by night, and my sleep fled from my eyes. These twenty years I have been in your house. I served you fourteen years for your two daughters, and six years for your flock, and you have changed my wages ten times. If the God of my father, the God of Abraham and the Fear of Isaac, had not been on my side, surely now you would have sent me away empty-handed. God saw my affliction and the labor of my hands and rebuked you last night.” (Genesis 31:38-42)

Jacob trusted God with the injustices in his life, and we are to do the same. But why? Because it frees us to look at the injustices others face. Fighting for justice in the lives of others is difficult if we are solely focused on our own rights, on the injustices we face in our lives. Can we consider -

• The elderly who can’t fend for themselves?

• The unborn children who have no voice

• The alien and stranger who wander in this vast land of ours?

• Those who are treated as commodities and trafficked like goods to be sold?

Leaving our issues in his hands while we pursue justice and righteous treatment for those who cannot take up their own cause is hard, without question. Such a call is not for the faint-hearted; indeed, doing so will cost us our time, energy, comfort, and may even cost us our very own lives.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a contemporary of Adolph Hitler, said, “Only he who cries out for the Jews may sing Gregorian chants.” His statement pointed to the inconsistency of singing praises to God while those at our doorstep were in a state of suffering caused by injustice. Lord, open our eyes and give us opportunity to serve you in this way.

“... let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the LORD.” (Jeremiah 9:24)

"... in your goodness, O God, you provided for the needy." (Psalm 68:10)

This call to action is not to the exclusion of prayer. Some of us are called to exactly that: battling the injustices of life through prayer. Since our prayers have the power to avail great change, we do well to cry out for the ill-treated and those who serve them - we carry God’s heart through our prayers for others.

I recall a time many years ago where I set aside a day for prayer and fasting. I rose early to begin my prayers and immediately the Lord, the God who cares for others more deeply than we can even imagine, revealed his heart to me and I heard in the depths of my spirit, “My heart breaks for the children of Herzegovina.”

The Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina was at the time (1992-1995), a war-torn country in Europe. I knew little about the country or its situation, but that didn’t matter - God knew, and God cared, and God allowed me to be a part of that care by praying for these children. The plight of those affected by this war has not stopped; it continues today. The children living at that time still bear the scars of war today, and the children born of sexual crimes against their mothers still carry that stigma today.

Will you begin by crying out for those treated unjustly? What an honor to hear the heart of God in prayer that we may pray guided by the passion and concern of things that concern him. And pray for opportunity to act. You may be the one God chooses to make a difference.