Ep. 58 | ... and you know that God is a God of justice

Maybe you're like me and you know that God is a God of justice.

In this episode, I share how even in a chaotic world, we have hope and God's justice on our side. It's all about balancing the hustle with moments of rest and reflection. So, I reflect on how we often seek justice for our hurts, but sometimes we need to extend grace instead. God’s timing and methods are not ours, but His love never fails. 

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Transcript

You're listening to Maybe You're Like Me, the transparent musings of a God girl chasing after her purpose. Maybe You're Like Me is a podcast for dreamers and doers who take life's lessons and level up to look more like Christ. We'll connect through super relatable stories, growing pains, and aha moments that most of us share, just not always out loud. I'm your host, Alicia Watson, creative entrepreneur, playwright, author, wife, mother, daughter of the king, and so much more. And I can't help but to think that maybe you're like me. 

Hey, beautiful people. Thank you for joining me for another episode of Maybe You're Like Me with Alicia Watson. It's me, Alicia Watson, and I'm so happy that you joined me today. Today's another sunny day in the DMV. I love sunny days because I need the sun. As a person who suffers with seasonal affective disorder, if you're like me, you know that a cold and gray day means nothing gets done. I want to lay in the bed all day. I don't want to

I don't want to be productive. I want to sleep. Dark means sleep, but sunshine means get up and go. It's a productivity hack and God has been so gracious with giving me so many sunny days, even if it is freezing cold outside here. And I'm really, really thankful for that. I'm in a season of doing a lot and I think it's good.

it's necessary. I think it's actually how I'm built and I'll talk about this in another episode but I think I'm built to be busy.

Like in my most productive, successful seasons of my life, I've been busy. The past season, I've been talking about it for a couple of years now, I've had a season of rest. And I was also productive because rest can be productive too, because healing and growth and sitting at God's feet is also productive, like Mary and Martha, you know? It's just productive in a different way. I was in my Mary season.

And I'm kind of in a Martha season and having sunshine actually helps me through it. So there's a lot going on in the world. whole lot going on in the world. I don't really like using my platforms or even my regular day conversations to talk about politics, but we know what's all going on. And I know that there are a lot of emotions that are running rampant, especially here in the United States, things that we're concerned about, fears that we may have.

Feelings of overwhelm, doom and gloom. And I'm really working hard within myself and using my platforms to help to try to combat some of those feelings. Another feeling that's running rampant is anger. We're angry. We're reading things or seeing things. We're arguing with each other. So many communities are being torn apart from the inside out and then from the outside in. So much hateful behavior, just a lack of love. But we have hope.

We are not hopeless. have places to look to within the Bible that remind us that God sees, that God knows that God has not forgotten us. And I'm thankful for the times that I can flip through and be reminded of that. So maybe you're like me and you know that God is a God of justice. When my daughter was a toddler and throughout her preschool years, much like other kids that age, she would often just bump into stuff and

hurt herself on things. I don't know when it started, but at some point to make her feel better, I started to yell at inanimate objects in her defense. Bumped her knee on a table leg. Bad table, I would say. You don't hurt that baby. Pinched her finger in the drawer. I kiss her finger tenderly and I turn and point to it and I give the drawer a smack. No drawer, don't do that. Now she would stop crying and she'd look at the table or the drawer and she nod in agreement and run off to play. It was so cute. It was really cute and funny.

I continued to yell at floors and doors and walls and my baby would feel vindicated and protected for years. Like many of us, she wanted justice. She was hurt and someone or something needed to answer for it. The funniest thing about this is that there is no way these objects intentionally harmed her. They're objects after all. But I realized after a while it was more likely, more important to her that I was on her side, sticking up for her and protecting her.

There are many people who harm us and sometimes it's absolutely intentional and we want justice. We want someone to answer for it. And we definitely don't want them to experience compassionate mercy when we haven't so much as received an apology. We want God to protect us. We want him to punish them while coming to our rescue and putting them on notice. The thing is they are also his children. See, if it was my son who harmed my daughter, I would definitely correct him.

but it would be with compassion and also an opportunity to understand what he did wrong so that he could correct his behavior going forward because I love him too. I would not treat him like he was an inanimate object. I wouldn't treat him as if he was not my son just because he made a mistake or had a lapse in judgment that affected my daughter. Understanding this helps me to empathize with God. I know that's kind of funny to say, but I can see where he's coming from. Like I know it's important to him.

And I know he knows that I've been wronged, but he offers me space to allow him to protect me while also teaching me to look more like him. He offers me space to remember that there are times where I need him to extend grace towards me and I don't deserve it. Through his word, he reminds me to be kind to my enemies, to be gracious, forgiving, and merciful toward them, even though, even when, because I can't say they don't, but even when they don't deserve it.

Actually, especially when they don't deserve it because that's when it catches them off guard. That's the level of spiritual maturity that confuses and disarms. We all hear Matthew 5, 38 and 39 and we cringe a bit. It says, have heard it said, eye for an eye and tooth for a tooth. But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also. You know, God is just. His method and his timing of justice does not always align with our expectations.

but we're to wait on him in faith and let him have revenge. And then we do our best to not fall into the same wicked traps that can bring judgment on ourselves. In Ecclesiastes 3 17, Solomon shares his perspective on it with us. He says, said to myself, God will bring into judgment both the righteous and the wicked, for there will be a time for every activity, a time to judge every deed. It may be hard for us to run off and play while people have an answer for their quote unquote crimes against us, but we must.

We must immediately get back to the work that God has given us to do with the full confidence that God has everything under control. He sees everything. Nothing has escaped his gaze. Hebrews 10 and 30 says, for we know him who said, it is mine to avenge. I will repay. And again, the Lord will judge his people. When I was reading John, I realized God not only cared about the Ninevites, he cared about the livestock too. He cared about the big fish.

the pagan sailors, the plant he provided and killed, and the worm that killed it, and Jonah. He cared about Jonah too. It was his prerogative, God's prerogative, to do what he pleased with them all at the end of the day. That's the part we can't forget. We're a part of his plan. He's not a part of ours. Yet he is just and he cares for us. And that's all I have for you today. If you're like me, I love to hear from you.

Leave a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. If you know someone who's like us, share this episode with them or another of your favorite episodes if it applies to what they're going through. Thank you so much for listening. I hope you have a spectacular week. Okay. Bye.