Daily Devotions
How to Respond to Injustice
Reading for October 22nd: Mark 15-16
Weekly reading for October 18-24: 1 Peter 1-5
Therefore let those who suffer according to God's will entrust their souls to a faithful Creator while doing good.
1 Peter 4:19
Life is full of injustice:
- An accountant faithfully reports earnings for the corporation and loses his job for not being a "team player."
- A teenager turns in a cheater to the teacher and becomes the object of ridicule.
- An elder handles a delicate situation with careful attention to God's Word and with prayerful consideration and his actions are still condemned.
- A wife bites her lip when her husband is unfairly criticized and then the chief critic of her husband falsely accuses her of spreading rumors.
What should we do when treated unjustly? Exactly what the patriarch Joseph did. Joseph was sold as a slave by his own brothers (37:28); wrongfully accused of molesting his master's wife (39:18); and was then forgotten in prison by Pharaoh's butler whom he helped (40:23). He was twice thrown into a pit (37:24; 40:15), and his coat was taken from him two times as well (37:23; 39:13).
But in each instance Joseph trusted the Lord, and God made him overseer of a house (39:4), a jail (39:22), and a nation (41:40). He was even given a special coat by Pharaoh to replace the two he lost (41:42). Joseph never forgot God, and so God never forgot Joseph.
So, whatever the injustice we're enduring today, Joseph would tell us to commit our way to the Lord. He would tell us: "Be patient"; "Wait on the Lord"; "Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good"; "Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you." (James 5:7; Psalm 37:9; Romans 12:21; James 4:10)
Father God, we know you are with us and will bless us if we will only put our trust in you. Help us to respond today to our enemies in a Christ-like way.
