“I was living quietly until He shattered me. He took me by the neck and broke me in pieces. Then He set me up as His target, and now His archers surround me. His arrows pierce me without mercy. The ground is wet with my blood. Again and again He smashes against me, charging at me like a warrior. I wear burlap to show my grief. My pride lies in the dust. My eyes are red with weeping; dark shadows circle my eyes. Yet I have done no wrong, and my prayer is pure.” (Job 15:12-17 NLT)
Does it startle you that God allows these human accusations to appear in His Word. Obviously, Job wasn’t as “together” spiritually as he must have thought, because he completely misunderstood what was going on in his suffering. Many of us do as well.
The only time the term “injustice” is used in the King James Version of the Bible is in Job 16:17 when Job says: “Not for any injustice in my hands: also my prayer is pure.” The New Living Translation (above) translates that phrase: “Yet I have done no wrong…” Hmmm! Is that right? Yes, according to Job 1 he certainly had some impressive credentials, but God doesn’t allow temptation and testing for no reason.
Of course, God knew exactly the man Job was, but, apparently, Job had some lessons to learn about himself. Do you think there might be some things you and I need to learn that, unfortunately, we can learn in no other way than through testing?
Have you ever felt like God was punishing you for no good reason? Like He had you under His thumb and you weren’t getting up. It’s not an uncommon thought by many humans. There’s only one problem. No injustice is ever overlooked in the court of heaven. God doesn’t make mistakes, and He doesn’t allow things to enter our lives except He intends it for our good and His glory. Yet, He doesn’t force us to change.
Do bad things happen to good people? Absolutely! Injustices are being perpetrated all over the world, some, shamefully, in the name of God. But is God to blame for all of it? Any of it? God is the ONLY ONE who can see things clearly from ALL perspectives. He alone has the insight demanded to make an inerrant decision regarding anything on any subject.
The truth is sin isn’t always the issue. There was no apparent sin in Job’s life. God said in Job 1:8: “Have you noticed My servant Job? He is the finest man in all the earth. He is blameless – a man of complete integrity. He fears God and stays away from evil.”
Yes, of course, no one is sinless, but the longer we live in intimacy with Jesus, the less hold sin should have on us. Sometimes the purpose of our testing isn’t to cause us to turn from sin, but to turn to a greater level of intimacy with the Lord, as it was with Job. See Job’s response in chapter 40. Jesus promised us in John 16:33: “I have told you all this so that you may have peace in Me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.”
My purpose today is to simply put our mind at ease in the sense we never have to fear injustice in our relationship with the Lord. Will the Lord allow us to suffer from injustice? Absolutely! We’ll not escape injustice as a citizen of the human race, but He will always work in and through whatever we suffer to bring good to us and glory to Himself through us, which is our goal in life as a Jesus follower.
Food for thought.
Blessing, Ed 😊
Walking With Jesus 