Justice Is Not Our Job

Date: Saturday, November 7, 2026

Readings: 2 Thessalonians 1 | Psalm 107:1-22

The Thessalonians were being harassed for following Jesus, and Paul’s response is remarkable. Rather than urging retaliation, he celebrates that their “faith is growing more and more, and the love all of you have for one another is increasing” (2 Thessalonians 1:3). Persecution was not shrinking them; it was deepening them. Then he does something we may find uncomfortable: he talks about God’s justice, that “God is just” and will set things right (1:6). Paul does not give the Thessalonians permission to take vengeance. He gives them permission to stop carrying it. Justice is God’s work, and it will be perfectly done by One who sees everything.

Corrie ten Boom is someone who’s story I’ve been thinking about lately. She survived the Ravensbrück concentration camp, where her sister Betsie died. In 1947, after she spoke in a church in Munich, a man approached her with his hand out, and she recognized him as a former guard from the camp. He said he had become a Christian and asked for her forgiveness. She wrote that she froze; her hand would not move. She prayed silently, asking Jesus for the ability, and then she took his hand. Forgiveness was not her feeling; it was her obedience, and grace met her there.

How God’s final judgment will unfold remains a deep mystery that the church has approached with trembling and wonder. But the invitation here is clear. Hand your wounds to the Judge who is also the Savior. You can be released from the exhausting job of being your own avenger.

Devotional Prompts:

• What hurt are you tempted to avenge, and what would it mean to entrust it to God’s justice?
• How might your own trials be deepening, rather than diminishing, your faith and love?

Prayer: Righteous and merciful God, You see every wrong and You are the only perfect Judge. Free us from the burden of vengeance and help us trust Your justice with our deepest hurts. Let our faith grow and our love overflow, even under pressure. Amen.