John 3:16
16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
Do you struggle with the thought that life is not fair? Life isn’t fair. You are affected by other people’s bad decisions that are made in selfish moments. Good people get ill, lose loved ones and have difficult things happen to them. This is hard to understand and at times hard to accept. When something that is unfair hits you, it affects everyone around you. It affects your village. How you handle it also affects everyone around you. There is power in your actions.
You can understand the ripple effect of hurt. You have been hurt so your family and friends hurt. Their hurt reaches out and may, unknowingly, inflict hurt on someone else. Be careful with your actions. Your action starts first with a thought. “I am being attacked. I feel less. I got the short end of the stick. Unfair! This is not the way it was supposed to be. I’m alone. God does not care about me.” Just on the other side of that thought is freedom and peace. What direction does your thought move you in? Is it filling you with rage or peace? Is it weighing you down and preventing you from being aware of God’s presence? What ripple effect will your thought have?
The enemy wants you weighed down. He wants you to believe that you have been targeted and that you are being punished. He tells you things like, “You are being punished because you aren’t enough. You are not good enough. You deserve this unfair break because you have done something wrong. God loves everyone else more than you.” The enemy is pushing you to react harshly. He wants you to operate from the pit of disappear and hopelessness. He knows the power your actions have to hurt or to heal and to create chaos or blessings. He is banking that you will be a key in his plan to disrupt, distract and destruct.
You are enough and have God’s unconditional love. His love is not earned. It simply is. God does not punish. He corrects. God does not purposely dole out unfair moments in your life. He blesses. God’s love defends you. He takes what, you may think, is dead and brings it to life. He takes what is broken and heals it.
So many things are unfair. Losing your job was unfair. Being hit by a distracted driver was unfair. Someone leaving this earth early is unfair. Your spouse walking out on you and your children was unfair. Not fair to you. Not fair to your children, your village and completely disappointing to the Father who blessed him. Jesus understands unfair. He understands disappointment. He understands when someone doesn’t come through for you. He understands when the agenda to live is thwarted by someone else’s agenda to be selfish. He understands when things suddenly don’t go your way and you are facing something scary and overwhelming. He even understands when God doesn’t step in to save you from the pain and disappointment.
Life isn’t fair. But Your Father has not asked you to do something, live in moments that are unfair, that He was not willing to do. It is what you do with that unfair unexpected moment that matters. Do you curl up and quit? Or do you rise into a new life, a new beginning? Do you become bitter and full of revenge or full of joy and love? If you can find the strength to love during your unfair moment you grow in the Holy Spirit.
The unexpected may rattle you, but what you can expect and depend on is God will be there. You can expect Him to love you, to guide you and have a plan for you. Agree with God’s plan. When you think you have nothing to depend on remember you have God. When you feel alone and forgotten, remember God is with you. He never forgets you. When you feel like life is unfair to just you. Remember life was unfair to Jesus. And that unfairness resulted in immense beauty. Remember God can take what is unfair and inconceivable to you and bring out a blessing.
Prayer
Dear Jesus,
Thank you for working in moments of unfairness to show me blessings. Thank you for truly understanding disappointment and hurt. You have experienced unfairness first hand. Forgive me for the times I believe I am being punished. Forgive me for the times I believe you have given up on me and I am simply not enough. All this is untrue. You stand beside me, protect me and bless me. I believe in You. I am alive because You live. You live in my joyful moments and in my unfair moments. Help me to always recognize your presence. Help me to look for blessings in unfairness. They may not be evident until healing has taken place, but they are there in some way. Help me to always make the choice to be part of your movement, to love and heal, and not be part of the movement to disrupt, distract and destruct. I always have a choice. May I always choose you.
In Jesus’ name,
Amen
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