Dear Church, Champion Justice
I have come to know that God has a very soft spot in his heart for those most weak in his kingdom. Like a shepherd who tucks his wee lamb into his arms, our Lord scoops up the downtrodden and wraps them close and tight in the shadow of his wings (Is 40, Ps 91).
I’ve never felt more weak, wounded and cast down than I have walking through an unwanted divorce. When Isaiah speaks of a “bruised reed” and a “smoldering wick”, I have rarely felt so seen and known. These descriptions make sense to me because they have been my reality. Maybe your’s too?
Have you ever been so weak in your new life, you feel like a wisp of air could swamp you forever?
Some days I feel like I couldn’t get much closer to the dust of the earth.
And yet, this is where I have met my God in the most raw and real way. He found me there—like the Good Samaritan—willing and able to bind my wounds. I think his heart is so tender towards my brokenness, because his Son Jesus hung bloodied and bruised on a tree. He has a clearer understanding of injustice than any human ever could. His perfect, sinless, guiltless, beautiful Son was cast out, and cast down; betrayed and abandoned.
Our Heavenly Father understands injustice. He grieves betrayal. And oh, how his heart beats tenderly for those entraped and crushed by ruthless and oppressive men.
He promises to never break that dear bruised reed. He will never extinguish that smoldering wick. And dear Church, he goes even further. He promises he will not faint or be discouraged until he establishes justice on the earth (Is 42:3-4).
As someone who has been cast very low, may I cry out to you to take up this banner and to work in his name to bring justice to those who have suffered grievous injustice? Fight for the fatherless, for the cast out wife, for the widow, the orphan, the homeless, the sick and unwanted. Guard their boundaries, mentor their children, bind up their wounds, create pathways for abundant provision like the godly saints of old (Pr 23:10, Ru 1).
Dear Church, our God is just. Stand with him. Pray to him. Believe him. Trust him. Lead the broken to him. What a sacred, beautiful work you have—right here amongst the ashes.