Over the past month, I have sensed and seen supernatural evidence of what I can only describe as a tidal wave of justice coming to individuals who have patiently waited, served, and preserved their own integrity.
In the past two years, there have been specific moments where individuals have experienced delayed justice in situations that should have been resolved easily. God has allowed justice to only seem to delay so that he could bundle the recompense for past and present sins dramatically, as a tidal wave that comes all at once. As people have experienced growing debts of honor, finance, love, opportunity, and peace, there has been a gradual accumulation of righteousness in heaven for each reaction they have given out of righteousness and not self-serving motives. Over the next 6 months, there are and will be increasing moments where the accumulation of righteousness cannot help but eventually break through. Individuals will experience the radical vindication of God as a double portion blessing from the past and present to bless the future.
Jesus Prayed for Our Protection
Prior to his own suffering, Jesus understood the cost his friends would pay for following him.
“Lord, the Lord Almighty,
may those who hope in you
not be disgraced because of me;
God of Israel,
may those who seek you
not be put to shame because of me.“
Psalm 69:6
Because Jesus cares, he prayed (and is still praying, seated at the right hand of God) that the Father would protect his loved ones.
Holy Father, protect them by the power of[a] your name, the name you gave me, so that they may be one as we are one. 12 While I was with them, I protected them and kept them safe by[b] that name you gave me. None has been lost except the one doomed to destruction so that Scripture would be fulfilled.
My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. 16 They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. 17 Sanctify them by[a] the truth; your word is truth. 18 As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world. 19 For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified.
John 17: 11-12,15-19
While it is easy to give up hope and faith in moments where vindication, restoration, and recompense feels delayed, God promises to restore.
He will give eternal life to those who keep on doing good, seeking after the glory and honor and immortality that God offers
Romans 2:7
Mark the blameless man [who is spiritually complete], and behold the upright [who walks in moral integrity]; There is a [good] future for the man of peace [because a life of honor blesses one’s descendants].
Psalm 37:37 AMP
I will repay you for the years eaten by locusts—
the swarming locust, the young locust,
the destroying locust, and the devouring locustf—
My great army that I sent against you.
26You will have plenty to eat,
until you are satisfied.
You will praise the name of the LORD your God,
who has worked wonders for you.
Joel 2:25-26
God Knows How to Restore: The Rejected Bridegroom
In his life, Jesus took the place of the stranger in his own family,
And the place of dishonor after giving all of himself on the cross.
Similar to his own parable of the Wedding Guests, Jesus takes the place of the least wanted guest at his own wedding.
“When you are invited to a wedding banquet, do not sit in the place of honor, in case someone more distinguished than you has been invited. 9Then the host who invited both of you will come and tell you, ‘Give this man your seat.’ And in humiliation, you will have to take the last place.
10But when you are invited, go and sit in the last place, so that your host will come and tell you, ‘Friend, move up to a better place.’b Then you will be honored in front of everyone at the table with you. 11For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”
Luke 14:8-11
The one who invites so many others to enjoy his wedding banquet was the least wanted.
4 “Then he sent some more servants and said, ‘Tell those who have been invited that I have prepared my dinner: My oxen and fattened cattle have been butchered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding banquet.’
Matthew 22:4
18But one after another they all began to make excuses. The first one said, ‘I have bought a field, and I need to go see it. Please excuse me.’
19Another said, ‘I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I am going to try them out. Please excuse me.’
20Still another said, ‘I have married a wife, so I cannot come.’
21The servant returned and reported all this to his master. Then the owner of the house became angry and said to his servant, ‘Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the city, and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind, and the lame.’
22‘Sir,’ the servant replied, ‘what you ordered has been done, and there is still room.’
23So the master told his servant, ‘Go out to the highways and hedges and compel them to come in, so that my house will be full. 24For I tell you, not one of those men who were invited will taste my banquet.’ ”
Matthew 22:18-23
Jesus identifies with the poor, disabled, unwanted people who were not invited to the celebration. For this reason, he tells his followers to permanently include them in their celebrations.
“When you host a dinner or a banquet, do not invite your friends or brothers or relatives or rich neighbors. Otherwise, they may invite you in return, and you will be repaid. 13But when you host a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind, 14and you will be blessed. Since they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”
Luke 14:12-14
As justice for Jesus’ willingness to take the lowest place in creation in order to pay for our sins, the Father gives Christ the highest place of divine honor and authority in his Kingdom.
Therefore God exalted Him to the highest place
and gave Him the name above all names,
10that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
11and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.
Phillipians 2:9-11
God restored his joy! He restored everything that Jesus was willing to give up for his sake.
7You have loved righteousness
and hated wickedness;
therefore God, your God, has anointed you
above your companions with the oil of joy.
Psalm 45:7
In the same way, God will restore whatever his people have surrendered for his sake.
God’s Righteous Standard
Yahweh is the God of Perfect Justice.
Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne. Unfailing love and truth walk before you as attendants.
Psalm 89:14
Your throne, O God, endures forever and ever,
and justice is the scepter of Your kingdom.
Psalm 45:6
God establishes his own infinite authority on his perfect justice and righteousness.
Habbakuk uses this precept to reason with God when he is tired of looking on evil.
Your eyes are too pure to look on evil; you cannot tolerate wrongdoing. Why then do you tolerate the treacherous? Why are you silent while the wicked swallow up those more righteous than themselves?
Habbakuk 1:13
God is the God of Sowing and Reaping. He will send a harvest of righteousness to those who have acted righteously.
Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness.
2 Corinthians 9:10
Jesus, Minister of God’s Restoration and Authority
As someone who suffered, Jesus has perfect insight on how to restore the human heart.
In pages 53-55 of Jennifer Eivaz’s Inner Healing and Deliverance Handbook, Eivaz describes several common situations that Jesus’s life experiences qualify him to restore:
- A Joseph experience (Deep betrayal)
- A Job experience (Satan stole everything)
- A Daniel experience (Falsely accused and punished)
Jesus promises to bless those who are persecuted for his sake.
“Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. 12Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets before you.”
Matthew 5:1-12
He will not let anything go to waste, and values the cost.
Knowing the Goodness of God to restore and redeem injustice, the Apostle James has the audacity to encourage his readers to delight in suffering because they understand that testing is the preparation for something good.
In advance of the good thing, we are invited to celebrate God’s faith in us that we have what it takes to navigate and overcome testing.
The apostles left the Sanhedrin, rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name.
Acts 5:41
It is true that trials are difficult, but God is greater than our pain.
In advance, we can celebrate the good things that follow trials!
Celebrate that God has already decided the outcome in your favor!
Celebrate that the good thing is already on it’s way!
Righteousness is it’s Own Reward
Righteousness is its own reward!
It is worth doing the right thing when no one sees or values it, because to do the right thing is to be like Christ.
“His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’
Matthew 25:23
Without any extra reward, Christ-likeness is worthy in and of itself.
Persecution Leads to Authority
Yet because of the connection between Jesus’ humility and his authority, God invariably gives Christlike people authority.
True leadership is marked by sacrifice.
For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time of my departure is at hand. 7I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 8From now on there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but to all who crave His appearing.
2 Timothy 4:6-8
As a high office of authority, the Office of a Prophet can inspire persecution.
Blessed are you when people hate you, when they exclude you and insult you and reject your name as evil, because of the Son of Man. Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, because great is your reward in heaven. For their fathers treated the prophets in the same way.
Luke 6:22-23
The Office of Apostle is even more sacrificial.
Yet for your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.
Psalm 44:22
Continuing to do good is worthy in and of itself.
And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.
Galatians 6:9
Worshipping the God of Justice
There is no perfect justice in the world. But God who judges justly always rewards hidden sacrifice. God is just. He honors our cost both in Heaven and on the Earth.
Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.
Luke 6:38
I remain confident of this: I will see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living.
Psalm 27:13
In American culture, there is a saying that I grew up hearing in the Girl Scouts, in schools, and in civic groups. This saying is meant to motivate us earnestly to contribute, learn, and invest in the lives of other people.
“What you put into something is what you get out of it.”
I can think of interpersonal relationships, learning opportunities, and situations where I have experienced the richness of that promise. And yet…
While it should be true, it isn’t always.
Yet, God in his mercy and his justice DOES send breakthrough. He does send recompense, even if it comes through different people or groups then where the original sin was originally committed. He doesn’t have to, but he finds a way of paying us back.
I love that whatever I invest in God, I actually harvest. I love that choosing Jesus never be a waste of my time, energy, or emotions. God will always give us more, and he is unlimited. He is fair and limitless.
The King will say to them, ‘Yes! I tell you that whenever you did these things for one of the least important of these brothers of mine, you did them for me!’
Matthew 25:40
But if you bear patiently with suffering [which results] when you do right and that is undeserved, it is acceptable and pleasing to God.
1 Peter 2:20 AMP
Lord, you hold us with such steadfast love.
We can fully trust what you are doing.
Prayer
Even as we wait for the full vindication, restoration, and recompense for injustice,
Even as we look out on the future without knowing how resolution will come,
May we have the grace to trust what God is doing.
May the unknown carry security, hope, and joy instead of fear, loss, and rawness,
May faith in the goodness of God and certainty of his justice qualify us to enter into the blessing.
Lord, I thank you for the grace you have given to your servants to endure hardship and ill-treatment for your name.
Would you grant us even greater persevering grace until the work is finished.
Would the recompense come like a flood,
And would we be able to perceive your, “Well done, Good and Faithful Servant” in every supernatural and natural way.
Amen!
Age of the Unexpected 
2 thoughts on “Justice: Reaping a Harvest of Righteousness”