‘On this day the enemies of the Jews had hoped to overpower them but now the tables where turned and the Jews got the upper hand over those who hated them’ (Est. 9:2).

There is a time when God ‘comes down’ and executes judgment.  Justice means that God makes the wrong things right. After a long season of suffering, suddenly God ‘overturns the tables’. The false happiness of the sinner has come to an end. For a long time he lived in denial. He thought that God doesn’t exist or that He is too busy to observe him. Thinking he stands undetected, he strengthened himself in the way of wicked doubt and became worse with time. He took God’s mercy and patience for granted. Now the Day of Judgment has come.

‘When the sentence for a crime is not quickly carried out, the hearts of the people are filled with schemes to do wrong. Although a wicked man commits a hundred crimes and still lives a long time, I know that it will go better with God- fearing men, who are reverend before God; yet because the wicked do not fear God, it will not go well with them and their days will not lengthen like a shadow’ (Ecc 8:11-13).

This is the truth: There is a time of reckoning. There is ‘a day of the Lord’, when His judgment is revealed. At last, the thief is caught and he has to restore many times over. His victim becomes free and is promoted above the oppressor. The silent one can finally speak and sing. Sin, sickness, the bondage of fear and the vision of untimely death, all is destroyed and replaced with life and joy.

God ‘delights in judgment’ (Jer 9:24). This is a spiritual law. It should be great encouragement for the victims especially during times of oppression and persecution. The devil wants us to deny the truth. We have the impression that God has abandoned His creation or that He is does not care about our situation. We see the wicked prosper and we feel bad. This period of pain may be longer than we expected. But God allows us to pass thru the fire to mature our faith. Every tear that falls is counted by God, be sure of that. The training unto godliness seems so painful and lonely. But God is the One who supervises it. Please remember, there is a moment when a woman’s labor is over and her child is born. That is the moment when we are released from the sorrow and anxiety that defined our past. The body has no memory. It immediately forgets the pain and comes into rest, victory, strength and joy.

‘The righteous man is rescued from trouble and it comes on the wicked instead’ (PV 11:8)

God alone knows this holy moment of transition. The glory of the power of resurrection replaces the shame of sin, defeat and death. There is no fairy tale as beautiful and as exciting as the story of redemption in Christ Jesus. The perfect picture of overcoming joy is found in Christ alone! We are now invited to partake from the same glory! ‘What a wonder You are , my Lord…’

In Christ I declare:

I am a child of God!

God saved me from trouble!

I shall judge the wicked!

For God’s glory!

In Jesus name,

Amen!