Are You a Victim?
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…” Jesus Luke 18:7-8
Have you ever been robbed?
I was once. Someone broke into my house and stole $600 from my bedroom. Even though I never saw the thief, a creepy sense of violation made being in the house and sleeping at night difficult.
Have you been betrayed?
Maybe a friend gossiped about you, or your spouse had an affair.
Have you lost a loved one because of murder, an accident or illness?
And what about assault? Many of us have been physically abused, molested or raped. Even verbal abuse is an assault. When we’re a victim, we can become stuck in a place of feeling the need for the wrong to be made right. The injustice to be rectified.
We seek – we need vindication.
Most people have had some kind of injustice visited upon them. But much of the time, vindication doesn’t come. Perpetrators rarely admit their crimes let alone apologize for them. Often, our hurt goes unanswered because we kept the offense to ourselves. Maybe we even blamed ourselves.
I was stuck there. Here are a few signs that you may be too:
- Do you notice even the slightest of wrongs whether against you or not?
- Are you hyper vigilant to point out when your family “messes up?”
- Do you find yourself believing that your loved ones are trying to hurt you?
- Do you take offense at mistakes as if you were the target?
- Are you quick to assign blame?
Recently, I read the verse above. It wasn’t the first time, but it was the first time that I took to heart what Jesus was saying. I realized that my thoughts and action were often the result of feeling the need for vindication for the many areas I had been victimized in my past.
Jesus’s words finally sunk in.
He is the one who defends me. He will make it right in the end. At some point, those who have hurt me will be called to account. He WILL see justice done because I am his child who he loves.
He loves you too.
He sees our distress and pain. He knows the injustices we’ve suffered. He is not ignoring us. It may seem that he doesn’t care, but his timing is perfect. It is not for us to hold onto the injustices – that only hurts and hinders us.
When we allow his timing for vindication, we can be free to live. No longer will the weight of those moments hinder our lives.
We can let go.
Sometimes we need to talk about the hurt, pain or injustice in order to let it go into Jesus’s hands. I’m happy to listen in the comments below.
Laura Bennet - Author 