Activism and advocacy

Justice: Seeking and Waiting

Posted by Becky Watson Lee on 3 June 2026

We want justice

“Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne” (Psalm 89:14a)

Justice is at the very heart of God’s character. The Bible tells us again and again that God is just and fair – all that He does is right and perfect, and He frequently rebukes His own people and other nations for the injustices that they commit. He is firmly on the side of the oppressed, the abused and the victims. It is right to want justice because it’s a reflection of God’s character – part of His image in us. 

In Luke 18:1-18, Jesus tells a parable of a persistent widow, and commends her desire and pleading for justice. It’s for the sake of justice, among many other things, that Jesus submits Himself to the Cross. He satisfies the justice of His Father against sin, declaring ‘it is finished’ or ‘paid in full’ (John 19:30) with His final breath. Wanting justice is a good and godly desire. When we feel the unfairness of personal situations and global crises and are moved to pray to the Lord for justice, and when our hearts are gladdened when justice is done, it’s an act of God’s Spirit working in us to make us more like Jesus. 

We should seek justice

“Learn to do right; seek justice. Defend the oppressed.” (Isaiah 1:17a)

Our desire for justice is not a weak hope. Our hands are not tied as we pray to the Lord: sometimes God will answer our prayers through our own actions. Throughout Scripture, He calls on His people not just to want justice but to seek justice. God’s people should be known as people of justice – people who act with integrity, humility and fairness – who, like God, defend the oppressed and stand in opposition to the misuse of power. 

At Restored, we take this command seriously. By His Holy Spirit, God has empowered His church to be agents of justice in His world. And so we train churches to understand domestic abuse so that they can stand against oppression and support victims and survivors. We labour with the hope and prayer that when a survivor turns to their church for help and support, they experience safety and refuge, not suspicion and anger. 

Seeking justice is a good and godly action. When we speak up for the oppressed in our homes, churches and communities; when we lobby for change, when we walk with justice and integrity in our day to day lives, God’s Spirit is working in us. 

We must wait for justice

“And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly.” (Luke 18:7-8a)

It is good and right to want and to seek justice. However, the Bible also teaches that we must wait for justice. 

After much reflection and wrestling, this is ultimately where I have landed. It is good when perpetrators are arrested or called to account. It is good when they face some measure of human justice for their actions. But human justice is and will only ever be an imperfect picture of God’s perfect justice that is to come. 

Perpetrators may evade human justice. They may get that expensive lawyer. There may be insufficient evidence for a human court to prove wrongdoing. There may be a judge who makes poor decisions. But before the judgment seat of God, every secret of our hearts will be exposed, and all that has been done in darkness will be brought into the light. None of us can evade God’s final verdict. 

When we see people ‘getting away with it’, it is right to feel frustrated, disappointed, enraged at the imperfections of our human justice systems and work to make things better. But as Christians, we have a deeper, surer hope than anything this world can offer. We follow Jesus – the man who was crucified to satisfy God’s justice against sin, and who was raised to be the final judge of all. No moment of oppression, abuse, or injustice will be overlooked by Jesus on that day. Nothing will be swept under the carpet. No amount of power or prestige or money will protect anyone from His judgement. 

While we wait for Jesus’ justice to come, it can be really hard. The church that Peter wrote to felt this acutely, as they faced scoffers who mocked the idea of a coming judgement and followed their evil desires without any repercussions (2 Peter 3:3-4). But Peter reassures them with these words:

“But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.” (2 Peter 3:8-9)

The Lord will keep His promise to return and when He does every wrong will be put right. Our longing and waiting for justice will be satisfied. As Jesus says in Luke 18, even when it may not feel like it, God will see that His children get justice and quickly.