“This is a Time of Justice and Restoration” by Garris Elkins

We are entering a season where those who have experienced injustice are about to receive supernatural restoration. Throughout history the justice of God has brought restoration to his people who have suffered injustice at the hands of the enemy.  This is not a time for despair and sorrow.  This is a time to begin living in expectancy.  Something wonderful is about to take place.

The Lord is speaking a word of hope in the middle of injustice:

I am about to right this wrong.  The injustice done to you cannot stand in the presence of my justice.  The enemy came to steal, rob and destroy, but watch what I am about to do. My court has issued an official order against this work of injustice in your life.  Give me your sorrow. Give me your despair.  These are illegal orders issued from the courts of darkness. I have destined this season to be a time when my goodness and purpose will be revealed. My mercy and justice is coming. This injustice you are experiencing is about to become a place of celebration and restoration.

In early December I slipped on some ice and ruptured a tendon in my knee. It was one of most painful things I have ever experienced. This injury was not on my radar or included in my life-plan. Within days I was in surgery to repair the torn tendon.  My entire life was rearranged in one moment of time.

Immediately following the accident, I was isolated to a chair or couch with a brace on my leg to keep it uncomfortably extended during the initial healing process.  During this time of recuperation I read. I wrote. I ate food lovingly provided by friends. I did all of these same things each day with no break in my routine. My life became a series of repeats.

One morning I was standing in our bathroom with the support of my crutches.  I had just finished washing my hands.  As I was drying my hands, I felt the overwhelming presence of despair enter the room.  I had never before felt the presence of despair in my life. 

The best way I could describe what I was feeling was that I was being slowly pulled by the current of a powerful river towards the edge of a huge waterfall.  It was a power that seemed impossible to resist. What I was going through felt similar to being in the hospital in preparation for my knee surgery and going under anesthesia. As someone goes under anesthesia reality begins to slip away and you are taken to another place.

In the moment just before despair came with its dark vision, the reality of my injury had hit me with full force. I had been told I would be in this brace for several months followed by a season of rehabilitation not able to do all the things I love to do.

As I stood there looking into the bathroom mirror, the sorrow of my situation was setting me up to embrace hopelessness.  As I drifted towards the edge of despair, I even heard my surgeon’s words, “You should be back to normal in 6-8 months.” I became overwhelmed with sorrow. My sorrow began to anesthetize me to accept what appeared to be inevitable, taking me to a place I had never been before. The closer I got to the waterfall the deeper I went into the numbing effects of my sorrow.

Over the years, I have ministered to people who have drifted towards this edge of despair and sometimes gone over its falls.  Some never returned.  Some came back after years of counseling. I was scared.

Out loud, with the hand towel still hanging from my hands, I said, “I have no despair.  I have hope in God.” In that moment the image disappeared and the despair was gone.  This was no magic, memorized formula. This was a cry from the depth my heart in a desperate moment of great need.  I left the bathroom and told my wife, Jan, what had just happened.  I felt shaken and emotional.

In the next few minutes we took communion and prayed.  Jan walked me through some directed prayer about despair and we made sure any residue of this lying visitor was no longer present.

A week earlier, the day after my knee injury, the Lord said two words to me that would guide me during this season of recovery.  He said this would be a season where I would experience his goodness and purpose.   The vision of despair came to try and rob from me of the goodness and purpose God had planned.

What happened to me was an injustice.  God did not cause me to slip on the ice. Hell used this situation to attempt to steal, rob and destroy through an act of injustice.  God had other plans.  His intent was to bless, affirm and build my life in the midst of my suffering.

The despair I felt had to be challenged or the injustice I experienced would try to define my life.  My future freedom depended upon me confronting despair and the hypnotic influence of ungodly sorrow.  My only hope was found in calling on the God of justice.

Hope is a person, not a theory.  He has authority over the power and imagery of despair.  He has given that same authority to us. Despair cannot stand in his presence, nor can despair continue to pull us towards its place of eventual death, if we call upon God in our time of need. Lies have no power in the light of his presence.

As I began to experience a new sense of personal freedom, the Lord said this coming season would be a time of an unusual outpouring of justice for his people. Scriptures about his justice began to flood my mind.

“Righteousness and justice are the foundations of your throne.” Psalm 89:14

“For the Lord loves justice, and he will never abandon the godly.” Psalm 37: 28a

“The Lord gives righteousness
and justice to all who are treated unfairly.” Psalm 103:6

“For I, the Lord, love justice. I hate robbery and wrongdoing. I will faithfully reward my people for their suffering and make an everlasting covenant with them.” Isaiah 61:8

“My mercy and justice are coming soon. My salvation is on the way.” Isaiah 51:5

If you have experienced an injustice, God wants you to hear his heart.  If you have suffered a financial injustice, listen.  If you have suffered injustice in your marriage, listen.  If you have suffered an injustice concerning the destiny of one of your children, listen.   If you suffered an injustice at the hands of another believer, listen.  Listen to the heart of the God of justice. His mercy and justice is coming.  His salvation is on the way.