My heart yearns for justice. This year, up until three days ago, too many things have gone wrong at an unbelievable speed. The news of Coronavirus has fast given way to that of racism in the western world as well as brutal rape and murder cases in Nigeria, Africa. Being on this earth for over twenty-five years, I have never seen a greater need for justice in my entire life. Here in the U.S, protests and riots have become the order of the day due to the recent gruesome killing of the African American, George Floyd (RIP). #ICantBreathe has become the cry of many African Americans who have experienced injustice for decades, and their forefathers, centuries. On the 4th day of June 2020, Barakat, a 19 year-old young lady was raped and stabbed to death in Ibadan, Nigeria. She is not the first to experience such inhumane treatment. Uwa, Tina, Jennifer and many others whose stories did not make the headlines have lost their lives in these recent times. Very heartbreaking is the fact that only 65 men in Nigeria have been served justice for raping women, since far back as 1995. That sounds unbelievable right?!
How do we get justice?
Before I attempt to answer the above question, Dear Reader, let me ask you – Are we really looking for justice or is it vengeance we seek? There’s a great world of difference between the two words – Justice and Vengeance.
Justice: Just behaviour or treatment (righteousness and integrity are some its similar words)
Vengeance: Punishment inflicted or retribution exacted for an injury or wrong. (Source: Oxford Dictionary)
Vengeance will never get the ultimate result you and I seek. We want peace. We want unity. We want racism to become extinct. We want equity. Vengeance will only eliminate the apparently bad eggs without necessarily revealing and/or changing the evil thoughts in the hearts of men. There is great need for us to know the root cause of wickedness that has led to such heart-wrenching show of racism, rape, and brutal killings of our fellow human beings. This is because without knowing the root cause of a matter, it’ll be almost impossible to find a cure.
What is the cause of injustice? The answer is simple. The spirit of wickedness.
“For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.”
Ephesians 6:12, New King James Version (emphasis added)
Spiritual hosts of wickedness, friends! That’s the cause of injustice. The enemy and his cohorts have been here centuries before we were born. And the worst thing you and I can do is to fight spiritual battles with physical weapons! That’s as good as fighting an already lost battle. These men who have killed, stolen, and destroyed had their minds heavily influenced by the devil, our arch enemy. Wickedness is not a blood line thing. It’s not a gender thing. Not a tribe thing. It’s the devil’s strategy. The question is – what must we do to see wickedness curbed and justice exalted in our time and in times to come?
“Will not God bring about justice for His elect who cry out to Him day and night? Will He continue to defer their help?”
Luke 18:7, Berean Study Bible
To let justice prevail, crying out to the government is not enough. It is good, but not enough. Crying out to the media in protest is great, but not the key strategy. The One whom we must cry out to 1st, day and night is God, the One who gives justice. Remember what I wrote to you earlier. You and I cannot fight spiritual battles with physical weapons. A lot of persons are bickering and complaining about the injustice in our world today. They are totally oblivious of the better way, actually, the foundational way to get justice. The weapons of our warfare are not fleshly. Our weapons are spiritual and can only give us victory when we fight through God, with God, and in God (See 2nd Corinthians 10:4). Friend, prayer is our key strategy.
“and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,”
Ephesian 2:6, King James Version (emphasis added)
For us to take the stand and get justice, we must recognize our position in Christ. We have been raised together in Christ, far above these spirits of wickedness. Still, if we do not pray fervently, passionately, and relentlessly, we simply give them permission to prevail in their demonic operations. Until you and I take our war positions on the altar of prayer, we will remain prey to the enemy. It is time to stop complaining and start praying. It is time to stop bickering and start decreeing. It is time! The power in our tongues must be used for our good and the enemy’s undoing, not the other way round. It is on this same altar of prayer God will be revealing secrets to us regarding physical actions we need to take. Except you and I pray, we’ll act, at best, with human wisdom. You and I know human wisdom has failed us uncountable times. We need divine wisdom. We need insights that will stop the devil in his tracks, release men from the spirit of wickedness, and expose evil works. Note that men here are not restricted to the male gender. The enemy uses both sexes. May you and I never be tools in the hands of the enemy in Jesus’s Name. Amen.
To achieve the results we so desire, there are three words God directed me to carefully consider;
- Purpose
- Discernment
- Righteousness
How many of us have discovered the purpose we are willing to die for? Until you and I say like Esther “if I perish, I perish”, we will end up doing only so much on the earth. If you haven’t discovered your purpose and call, now is the best time to cry to God. Ask Him to reveal to you the purpose for which He has created you. You have a significant role to play in this generation. Destinies are tied to yours whether you believe it or not. The onus lies on you to ask, and begin to act. Ask in prayer, and act in service.
A lot of persons, even Christians, lack the Spirit of discernment. We measure and evaluate things and situations at face value. We judge matters with unrenewed minds. We just go with the flow. How on earth we will achieve the results we so long for? Until you and I depend on, completely trust in, and are led by the Holy spirit, we will keep making fatal choices that’ll inevitably lead to our undoing. The Holy Spirit helps us discern good from evil and helps us act according to that which will only bring us good. More than anything, our generation needs to rely absolutely on the leading of the Holy Spirit.
How can you and I fight evil if our hearts are filled with evil? Two wrongs will never make half a right. One right is a long shot. The place of righteousness in fighting spiritual battles can never be overemphasized. You and I cannot fight from the place of bitterness, hatred and resentment. The pains in our hearts have to be released to God before we can get the gains we desire from Him. Until we release, we will not receive. The pains of the maltreatments in the name of racism can make the maltreated bitter. Still, because Jesus is the center of our lives, we release every pain and we pray with the love of God in our hearts. It’s not easy, but it’s doable. Rape victims know exactly what pain, trauma, torture, and bitterness taste like. It is only normal to want revenge. Still, revenge alone won’t stop other children and adults from being raped and killed. We need to turn our pain into purpose. We need to release the pains to God, and see to it that the grip of the enemy on the lives of men and women get lose. We can’t do that with hate in our hearts. We do it with the God kind of love that characterizes righteousness. Remember – without righteousness, no man will see God. (Hebrews 12:14) May I add? Without righteousness, no man will see God’s intervention. We must understand that righteousness is a gift we receive from God. We do not get it by our works. Nevertheless, until we release our burdens, pains, and sins, we’ll never receive the gift of righteousness.
It’s time to rise, Warriors! It’s time to wage war against our real enemy, the devil. It’s time to keep not silent, but cry out to God, day and night. It is time to shift things in the atmosphere with the authority you and I have been given by God. I see Esthers arising. I see Davids taking territories for our King. I see Deborahs and Baraks teaming up to pull down the gates of the enemy.
It’s a new day. It’s a new dawn. We have the right weapon. Question is- will we wield it against the enemy or will we keep bickering and complaining?
With love and passion,
Ashley
