Because God loves people, He hates oppression. He hates anything that takes advantage of you. In Amos’s day, the rich were ruthless and exploited the poor: the Lord Himself said of them, “They trample the heads of the poor on the dust of the ground and block the path of the needy” (Amos 2:7 HCSB).

God’s perfect love turns into an angry flame against those who take advantage of the disadvantaged. Both Amos and God were furious toward those “who rob the poor and trample down the needy!” (8:4 NLT). There were people who cheated and strong-armed and exploited those who most needed a hand. They mixed in chaff with grain and rigged scales so they could charge more. And when they employed the poor, they didn’t offer a fair wage. “Then you enslave poor people for one piece of silver or a pair of sandals,” God accused (8:5–6).

Love does not overlook injustice. It will not ignore the unprotected and underprivileged. God’s justice will come for every oppression. But even more than that, God will restore far more than this life can take from us. “‘The days are coming,’ declares the LORD, ‘when the reaper will be overtaken by the plowman and the planter by the one treading grapes’ ” (9:13). In other words, love will eventually bring a harvest of justice and blessing in your life that no oppressor can stop.

If you feel as if what you’ve planted in life has been trampled on or your efforts are uprooted before they can even have a chance to grow, trust that God’s power is greater than the powerlessness you feel. Pray today, “Let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream!” (5:24).