Dig a Hole on an Airfield before the Sun Comes Up
There may be times when we are powerless to prevent injustice, but there must never be a time when we fail to protest.
Elie Wiesel, “Nobel Peace Prize Lecture,” Dec. 11, 1986
Dawn. Monday, May 10, 2010. The first light of the morning was slowly attempting a comeback over the waters of Mobile Bay. Seventy-five business and government leaders wove through the Mobile, Alabama, back roads of Brookley Airfield, a former air force base that was now home to several avionic companies. As the men and women walked from their cars and huddled together in the waning darkness on the edge of the runway, a few pleasant good morning greetings were expressed, but little else was said. The mood was serious, sober. The mayor of Mobile was there, along with several members of the city council and chamber of commerce.
We were there for the sole purpose of crying out to God for justice for our city. But why cry out to God on an airfield before the sun was up?
In 2008 the avionic company Airbus won a $40 billion contract with the United States Air Force to build the KC-45, a large fuel tanker airplane that could fill the bellies of fighter jets in flight. Airbus had looked at several cities to build the plane and chose Mobile because of the close proximity of Brookley Airfield to railways and waterways that would be critical in transporting the large fuselages and wings of the planes to be harnessed together in the assembly plant. For a medium-sized Southern city, you can imagine how exhilarating this news was. Other industries would come alongside the KC-45 project to provide support and this meant jobs—lots of them.
However, not long after Airbus won the bidding contract, political maneuvering and posturing prevailed and the air force awarded the prize to another great aeronautics company instead.
This was absolutely devastating news. What made it worse was that a politician who represented the other aeronautics company actually said that Alabama Southerners didn’t have the intelligence to build supertankers. That hurt, because Forrest Gump is from Alabama and he’s pretty smart and that’s all I have to say about that.
A Decree for Justice
In January, a few months before that early morning gathering on the runway, I attended an annual business leader’s prayer meeting in downtown Mobile. After the event, five businessmen asked if I would like to join them for breakfast at the Whistle Stop Café. It was a glum group. The men walked through the bidding process point by point and explained how Airbus had scored the highest on all the air force’s criteria. They couldn’t understand how a signed and sealed contract could just be taken away. Over the noisy clatter of silverware and the smell of hot Southern grits, Conecuh sausage, warm pancakes dripping with fresh maple syrup, and biscuits oozing with gravy, with Lucy the waitress (who has been at the Whistle Stop for as long as anyone can remember) calling us baby and honey and sugarplum every time she poured steaming coffee into our cups, I quietly said, “Why don’t you write a decree for justice?”
A few weeks later I found myself standing before the key business leaders of the city in a bank boardroom in the tallest building in Alabama. Years earlier I had written a book entitled The Decree of Esther, and after I gave each person in the room a copy of the book I explained how a written decree is simply a petition that is written down. I described in detail from the book the power of crying out to God for justice and the value of a justice decree:
Proverbs 8:15 says, “By me (wisdom) kings reign, and rulers decree justice.” It is in our kingly roles to decree justice. . . . Oftentimes in the Scriptures God brings justice to His people through a written decree. When Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, had crushed Israel and was carrying away her people captive, God did a remarkable thing. He decreed that justice would come to His people. Jeremiah 51 is one of many prophetic decrees of justice. Even as the Jews were being led into bondage, God said, “Behold, I will plead your case and take vengeance for you” (Jer. 51:36).
Jeremiah did something interesting. He took a scroll and wrote a decree concerning the just judgment that was going to come upon Babylon for her treatment of the people of God. Then he told Seraiah, one of the leaders of Israel being led away as a slave, “When you arrive in Babylon and see it, and read all these words, then you shall say, ‘O LORD, You have spoken against this place to cut it off, so that none shall remain in it, neither man nor beast, but it shall be desolate forever.’ Now it shall be, when you have finished reading this book, that you shall tie a stone to it and throw it out into the Euphrates. Then you shall say, ‘Thus Babylon shall sink and not rise from the catastrophe that I will bring upon her’” (vv. 61–64).
Speaking through the prophet Isaiah, God said that He would dry up the rivers of Babylon and make the crooked places straight (see Isa. 44:27; 45:2). When Cyrus the Great laid siege to Babylon, his engineers rerouted the Euphrates River by straightening it and directing it away from the city. They captured Babylon by marching on the dry riverbed underneath the city wall, thus walking directly on top of the decree that Jeremiah had written seventy years before and that now lay on the bottom of the Euphrates with a rock tied around it.1
Over the next few months these business leaders took to heart the words of Proverbs 8:15, “By me (wisdom) kings reign, and rulers decree justice.” We met together every Wednesday morning and gradually penned a beautiful decree for God’s justice in the matter of the lost Airbus contract. At that early morning gathering on the airfield, we lifted up our voices in a cry for mercy. Someone suggested we bury the decree like Jeremiah buried his decree in the Euphrates River. The mayor of Mobile dug a hole on the edge of the runway, and after placing our decree in a canister we dropped it into the hole, covered it, and quietly went back to our cars just as the sun was rising.
Let me show you how crying out for justice is a critical element in your resilience plan.
Justice Is Just Who God Is
The prophet Isaiah tells us, “No one calls for justice, nor does any plead for truth. . . . Justice is turned back, and righteousness stands afar off; for truth is fallen in the street, and equity cannot enter” (Isa. 59:4, 14). Isaiah is saying that for some reason when people suffer injustice they don’t cry out to God for vindication: “No one calls for justice.” Why? Perhaps it was because of a misunderstanding of the character of God. Yet justice is at the very core of God’s personality and nature. One of the Hebrew names for God is Elohei Mishpat, which means “God of Justice.” This wonderful and powerful name is also found in the book of Isaiah: “For the LORD is a God of justice (Elohei Mishpat); blessed are all those who wait for Him” (30:18). God’s very name means justice.
When you suffer financial loss, broken family relationships, lost inheritance, health issues, ongoing financial insecurity, people taking advantage of your good nature and generosity, injustice in your business, or wounds inflicted by a person with evil intent, you can slowly allow the roadblocks of self-pity, disappointment, resentment toward God, and indecisiveness to become strongholds in your mind. You may begin to wonder, If God is just, why am I suffering injustice? The more pressing question you might be asking is, If God is just, when is He going to vindicate me? When your vindication, restoration, and restitution are delayed, you can begin to wonder if God is really just after all. I’ve said it before: it’s not the sting of loss that is so painful; it’s the longevity of the thing.
I shared with you my story in chapter 9 about my crucible moment when my house did not sell. Facing serious financial loss, I fell on my living room floor and cried out to God. You were probably thinking that at that moment my cell phone rang again and the realtor on the other end of the line was excitedly telling me the deal was still on. That, in fact, the buyer was sending a gift card from Ruth’s Chris Steak House by courier that moment for all the pain he had just put me through! Well, nothing like that happened on that day four years ago. And you know what? I still have not sold that house. Instead, I embraced my perplexing situation and simplified my approach to solving the problem, asked God for wisdom, started hoping again like the slaves of the British West Indies, and soon after, a friend traveled all the way from another country to encourage me. In our few days of fellowship my friend said to me, “Why don’t you just lease the house?” I had not considered that option. And that is what I did.
So, like you, I am on this journey toward complete restoration and restitution, and as I’m waiting God is doing something wonderful on the inside of my soul. I would not trade this experience for anything! I think the most important thing I have learned in the process is to wholeheartedly trust in Elohei Mishpat—the God of Justice. I have come to know that God will always, in every circumstance, do the right thing on my behalf, because that’s just who He is.
When it comes to crying out for God’s justice, Psalm 97 offers the wounded and searching soul great comfort: “Righteousness and justice are the foundation of His throne” (v. 2). What the psalmist is saying is, “If God is not just—if He does not restore all of your losses—then His very throne has crumbled in ruins.” The foundation of the throne of God, made with righteousness and justice, will never be in jeopardy.
Your Vindication Is Coming
In one of the last scenes of his vision of heaven, the apostle John sees something incredible: the throne of God still standing secure after being challenged by the adversary for centuries. “And there shall be no more curse, but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it, and His servants shall serve Him” (Rev. 22:3). How can I be so sure your vindication is coming? The throne of God is established forever and justice is the foundation of His throne.
A young Scottish pastor who was struggling in his faith visited an elderly woman from his congregation who was near death. When he walked into her room, he was overwhelmed with the peace and joy that shone from her countenance. He was not intrigued by her calm assurance but rather irritated. “How can you be so certain,” he said, “that you will immediately be in the presence of the Lord when you die?”
The response of this elderly saint will encourage anyone who doubts in God’s ultimate justice and vindication: “If I should awake in eternity to find myself among the lost, the Lord would lose more than I would; for all that I would lose would be my immortal soul, but He would have lost His good name.”
Elohei Mishpat is His name, and He stands behind it!
One of the most dramatic statements about God’s justice is found in Jesus’s parable of the widow who cried out to the unjust judge:
Then He spoke a parable to them, that men always ought to pray and not lose heart, saying, “There was in a certain city a judge who did not fear God nor regard man. Now there was a widow in that city; and she came to him, saying, ‘Get justice for me from my adversary.’ And he would not for a while; but afterward he said within himself, ‘Though I do not fear God nor regard man, yet because this widow troubles me I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me.’” Then the Lord said, “Hear what the unjust judge said. And shall God not avenge His own elect who cry out day and night to Him, though He bears long with them? I tell you that He will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?” (Luke 18:1–8)
Don’t Be Afraid to Cry Out
The entire idea of crying out to God for justice may seem a little strange. However, Jesus sets the precedent in this passage that crying out is not only reasonable but necessary in your resilience plan: “And shall God not avenge His own elect who cry out day and night to Him, though He bears long with them?” (v. 7).
Where did we lose the concept of crying out to God for justice? As the early church grew and expanded across Europe, Greek philosophy began to infringe upon Hebraic thought. The Hellenistic idea of dualism divided a person into two parts, spiritual and physical. Spirituality was somehow divorced from the physical world; eventually dualism gave way to asceticism and monasticism, and prayer became contemplative, nonverbal, nonphysical, and intellectual. But in Hebraic biblical thought a person was one—body, soul, and spirit—and so prayer involved the whole person. Prayer was physical. The Jews lifted their voices, clapped their hands in praise, stood, laid on the ground, and cried out for justice. Prayer also involved the soul, because for the Hebrews prayer was not only intellectual but emotional. The spirit was not left out because prayer was meant to flow out of the faith in one’s heart.
Jesus prayed like a Hebrew rather than a Hellenist. In the garden of Gethsemane, the night before His crucifixion, His prayer was physical because he fell on His face and sweat drops of blood. His prayer involved the emotions of His soul because He said to His disciples, “My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death” (Matt. 26:38). And His prayer came from the depths of His Spirit because the Scripture says He, “in the days of His flesh, when He had offered up prayers and supplications, with vehement cries and tears to Him who was able to save Him from death . . . was heard because of His godly fear” (Heb. 5:7).
Why did Jesus the Son of God find it necessary to cry out to God? Because He knew that a cry for justice always gets God’s attention. You see this throughout the history of the Jewish people. When God’s people cried out in desperation, He set the course for their deliverance . . . not just once or twice but time and time again throughout the Bible. All the way back in the book of Exodus, after suffering four hundred years of slavery, the Jews cried out to God for help: “Then the children of Israel groaned because of the bondage, and they cried out; and their cry came up to God because of the bondage. So God heard their groaning, and God remembered His covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. And God looked upon the children of Israel, and God acknowledged them” (Exod. 2:23–25).
All throughout the Scriptures you can see God establishing the principle of audibly calling out to Him for justice: “Call upon Me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify Me” (Ps. 50:15). The Hebrew word for “call” is qara, and it means “calling aloud or crying aloud.” David the psalmist found it necessary to cry out continually: “Evening and morning and at noon I will pray, and cry aloud, and He shall hear my voice” (55:17). The Hebrew word here for “crying aloud” is hamah, which means “a loud roar.” Other Hebrew words mentioned in the Bible that describe crying out to God are shava, a high-pitched shout for help, tse’aqah, a cry of distress, and rinnah, a ringing cry of grief or a joyful shout.
In the New Testament Paul also instructs us to cry out to God: “For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, ‘Abba, Father’” (Rom. 8:15). The word Paul uses here for “cry” is krazo, and it literally means “to shout.”
How Long Do You Have to Wait?
So, when will God’s justice come your way? Two statements from the parable of the persistent widow give us the answer. The first clue is in Luke 18:7: “And shall God not avenge His own elect who cry out day and night to Him, though He bears long with them?” The word here for “bears long” is makrothumeo, and it means to patiently endure loss and misfortune. God is merciful toward you when you’re suffering an injustice, so much so that He carries the burden of injustice with you, bearing you up under the heavy load you’re carrying. Makrothumeo! In essence, God endures your pain with you and longs for the dawning day of your vindication even more than you do.
Why is it necessary that you bear this burden so long? Because, as we’ve discussed, God is concerned about not only what happens to you but also what happens in you. In this long season of suffering and loss, God is refining and molding you. There is a wonderful truth in James 5:7 that affirms this: “Therefore be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, waiting patiently for it until it receives the early and latter rain.” The early rain broke up the fallow and hard ground and prepared the soil for the seed. The latter rain germinated the seed, and the farmer waited patiently, bearing long, for the seed to take root. First the stalk, then the blade, then the full kernel of wheat.
Yes, the farmer longed for harvesttime but also knew it was necessary for the early and latter rains to complete their work. Your times and seasons are in the hands of a loving and just God who knows exactly when your soul is ready to receive the harvest of justice you’ve been crying out to obtain.
Our second clue concerning when our justice will come is found in Luke 18:8: “I tell you that He will avenge them speedily.” After you cry out to God in patient endurance your justice is going to come, and when it does it will be quick and sure—speedily! The amazing Greek word here for “speedily” is tachista, from which we get our word tachometer. It carries the meaning of quickness, or a short amount of time. As you and God bear long through this season of injustice, rest assured that Elohei Mishpat, the God of Justice, is going to avenge you soon.
The Two Rs: Restoration and Restitution
God is so faithful to His name, Elohei Mishpat, that He not only brings restoration but also restitution. In restoration the God of Justice returns what we have lost. In restitution the God of Justice compensates us for all the pain and suffering we have endured through our long season of loss. The Shunammite woman in 2 Kings is a wonderful example of this double deliverance. The prophet Elisha warned her of a coming famine in Israel, and so she moved to a foreign country for seven years. When she returned she found her house and land had been taken over by others. She appealed to the king for justice, “So the king appointed a certain officer for her, saying, ‘Restore all that was hers’” (2 Kings 8:6). She got her land and home back. That’s restoration! But there’s a second half to verse 6: “and all the proceeds of the field from the day that she left the land until now.” Others had unjustly confiscated her land in her absence and the king ordered them to pay her all the profits in full from the harvests of the seven years she was away. That’s restitution!
If you have been a victim of someone else’s abuse or fallen prey to the attack of the adversary, you are eligible for a settlement from the God of Justice that includes both a full restoration and compensation for lost time, emotional pain and suffering, lost inheritance, seasons of barrenness and fruitlessness due to spiritual drought, loss of finances, loss of a job or income due to an economic downturn, and even loss of joy and happiness. Your job is to make a claim. Isaiah tells us that in his day, “No one calls for justice” (Isa. 59:4). But you can change that in your day by taking a stand like the persistent widow in Luke 18 and cry out for your vindication. God is longing to vindicate His great name—Elohei Mishpat—and He’s calling you to get involved in your own restoration and restitution by lifting up your voice in a cry for justice.
A Plant Built on a Decree
Now, for the rest of the story of the decree for justice for Mobile. It would have been hard to believe if I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes.
After we cried out to God on the airfield that morning on May 10, 2010, we waited patiently and continued to ask God for justice on behalf of our city. What happened next has everything to do with God “bearing long” and carrying our burden with us.
As we waited, humility began to grow in the business leaders involved. They began to see that God’s ultimate purpose for the city of Mobile was of kingdom value not just economic value. Hearts were knit together and our prayers became deeper and more significant. Yet in changing our mandate from economics to righteousness, we never let go of the burden to continue to cry out for justice.
Then suddenly, unexpectedly, and speedily, our justice came—two years after our loss—in a way that was beyond what we had asked or hoped; it was a full restoration and restitution moment. On July 2, 2012, Airbus held a press conference in downtown Mobile, and when the Airbus official got up to speak he stunned both the city and the worldwide aerospace community. He explained how Airbus now planned to build a $600 million assembly plant in Mobile, Alabama, in order to construct the A-320, a large 150-seat luxury airliner equivalent in size to a Boeing 737. Over the next few years the factory was constructed and the first A-320 rolled off the assembly line on March 21, 2016—appropriately, the first day of spring. Would you like to know where Airbus built their building? Right on top of our decree for justice! Not long after the stunning Airbus announcement we gathered again at dawn on the airfield to lift our voices in thanksgiving and praise to God for His remarkable mercy. Two of the godly men who were intricately involved in writing the decree for justice soon after ran for public office. Sandy Stimpson was elected mayor of Mobile, and Bill Hightower was elected state senator.
Our reasonable, necessary act: we cried out and we waited. Our Abba Father reached his hands down into Airbus and did more than we could ever have imagined.
BOUNCE TAKEAWAY:
Reflect on Your Own Story
BOUNCE CHALLENGE #12
In your bounce journal, I encourage you to write a decree for justice. Ask God for vindication, restoration, and restitution. You can open this entry with the heading “My Decree for Justice.”