As a child I remember standing in absolute awe of the ocean, just as Tori was a few weeks ago when we went to the beach. I was in awe, and I still am. I know that if I were to be caught in the waves, the darkness and fury would press in, would drag me down, and would crush me. In these recent weeks, I feel like I could be dragged down and crushed by something else entirely.

Injustice.

I see it on every street corner. The elderly woman left to beg. The child changing clothes on the side of the street. I worry about her future. The boys sniffing glue in the darkened doorways. The little girl who just lost her father last week , shot dead, by a random killer. Murder. Poverty. Rape. Child abuse. Abandonment. Neglect. The headlines haunt me day after day. Injustice after injustice falls down on me and surrounds me like a vast, dark, crushing ocean. Choking the life from this beautiful country. Strangling the souls that live here.

I am angry.

When I talk to the kids that live on the streets, that have always called that dangerous place their home.

I am angry.

When I visit the boys at CISNA who were abused as young children.

I am angry.

When I talk to the young prostitutes who are working to support their children at the age of 15.

I am angry.

When I see the girls in the girls’ home, talk to them, see their pregnant bellies, and hear that they were raped.

I am angry.

I am angry at the injustice in this world. I am angry at the pain. I am angry at the sin, and the selfishness, and the darkness of humanity. It overwhelms me. I feel as if I will drown in it.

And then God speaks…

Listen to me, my people. Hear me, Israel, for my law will be proclaimed, and my justice will become a light for the nations.    – Isaiah 51:4-5

The Almighty is beyond our reach and exalted in power; in His justice and great righteousness, He does not oppress.   –  Job 37:23

The LORD loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of His unfailing love.    – Psalm 33:5

I myself will tend my sheep and have them lie down, declares the Sovereign LORD. I will search for the lost and bring back the strays. I will bind up the injured and strengthen the weak, but the sleek and the strong I will destroy. I will shepherd the flock with justice.  – Ezekiel 34:15-16

But I know the LORD will help those they persecute; He will give justice to the poor.  – Psalm 140:12

But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.  – Amos 5:24

I am praying today for God’s justice to roll down onto these shores.