Wednesday I did something I have never done before and will likely never do again. I “attended” a civil hearing. The opportunity was provided due to alternate ways of doing business through Zoom. If you are unfamiliar with Zoom, it is an online forum to conduct meetings, meet with friends, and apparently, have a civil hearing.

It is not how I would normally spend a day but I wanted to be supportive to those involved, you know, show some love. It was a heavy day for everyone involved, but I was particularly drawn to the responsibility of the judge.

Justice is a serious issue. Scripture speaks about justice. God values it. Humans pervert it. As I listened to the witnesses give testimony, I couldn’t help but feel a burden for the judge. I wondered how she remains objective as she listens to the stories of the people in her courtroom.

Trusting another human being to make a decision that is just totally freaks me out. I would rather submit to the watchful eye of my Father in heaven than any judge here on earth. In 1 Chronicles 21, David decides to take a census. This displeased God very much and David was allowed to choose his punishment: 3 years of famine, 3 months of destruction by the enemy, 3 days of plague at the hand of the Lord. What did David decide?

“I’m in a desperate situation!” David replied to Gad. “But let me fall into the hands of the Lord, for his mercy is very great. Do not let me fall into human hands.”

1 Chronicles 21:13

I vote with David. Job agrees. In chapter 31, Job asserts his innocence, saying this:

Let God weigh me on the scales of justice, for he knows my integrity. If I have strayed from his pathway, or if my heart has lusted for what my eyes have seen, or if I am guilty of any other sin, then let someone else eat the crops I have planted. Let all that I have planted be uprooted.

Job 31:6-7

Job willingly laid everything on the line to be judged by God rather than man.

A few weeks ago, I was talking with someone involved with the civil issue I mentioned earlier. He kept saying, “You know, there are two sides!” I replied, “I actually think there are three. His side, her side and the truth.” It seems to me only God knows the truth.

David comes to this conclusion in Psalm 51:

Against you, and you alone, have I sinned; I have done what is evil in your sight. You will be proved right in what you say, and your judgment against me is just.

Psalm 51:4

As I consider the awesome responsibility of this judge, I rejoice that I KNOW the one who judges me. He knows all things with perfect clarity and I am confident of the Love of the Father for me. He truly is true and right in what he says.

I believe we can pray confidently with the psalmist when he says,

Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life.

Psalm 139:23-24

And that is my prayer for today! Let him examine my thoughts and I will rest in his love for me!