From putting in a lot of time and effort to accomplish a goal and then failing to do so, or exhausting ourselves in an attempt to serve God only to suffer hugely in turn, many of us will go through periods in life when we feel as though we haven't got what we deserve.
It's often that when things go wrong for us or others that we know and love that we become most conscious of justice and so keen to see that it's served. In some court cases, the mitigating circumstances of criminals are taken into account and as a result they receive a lesser sentence. These more lenient sentences can be viewed by some as miscarriages of justice but what we're reminded of in such instances is the need to enact justice with mercy.
This is exactly what God does. He is just but He also is wonderfully merciful. And how He interacts with His people is evidence of that inspiring and compassionate balance. We're beneficiaries of the most incredible combination of justice and mercy.
Yes, there are times when we put our all in or are so careful not to put a foot wrong and don't get the result that we worked so hard for but there are also plenty of times when we receive tremendous blessings when we've put in very little or no effort to give glory to God.
Here are six Bible verses to give you confidence that even in a world where there are so many cases of injustice, God reigns supreme and so does His justice.
Proverbs 16:11 - A just balance and scales are the Lord's; all the weights in the bag are his work.
Colossians 4:1 - Masters, treat your bondservants justly and fairly, knowing that you also have a Master in heaven.
Job 36:6 - He does not keep the wicked alive, but gives the afflicted their right.
Acts 17:30-31 - The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent, because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.
Psalm 37:27-29 - Turn away from evil and do good; so shall you dwell forever. For the Lord loves justice; he will not forsake his saints. They are preserved forever, but the children of the wicked shall be cut off. The righteous shall inherit the land and dwell upon it forever.
2 Thessalonians 1:5-8 - This is evidence of the righteous judgement of God, that you may be considered worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are also suffering — since indeed God considers it just to repay with affliction those who afflict you, and to grant relief to you who are afflicted as well as to us, when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.
