“Life’s not fair!”

You’ve heard it. You’ve felt it. Maybe you’re living it right now. It’s the sting of working twice as hard as someone else and watching them get the credit. It’s losing because someone cheated and got away with it. It’s dreading another confrontation with bullies who never seem to face consequences. It’s watching your reputation crumble under gossip and lies you cannot control. It’s being mocked, excluded, or targeted simply because you choose to follow Jesus and make Him known. It’s in moments like these that everything in you wants to scream, “This isn’t right!” And you are correct—it isn’t right, or fair, or appropriate. The question is: Now what?

Do you let injustice drive you to worry, fear, anger, bitterness, or even revenge? This would certainly be understandable; perhaps even natural. But is it possible that injustice can actually drive you to something else—something better; something beautiful; something full of blessing?

Psalm 43 is the honest prayer of someone who understands injustice deeply. He’s being lied about, oppressed, and unfairly treated. He sees evil winning and cries out to God, “Declare me innocent, O God! Defend me against these ungodly people. Rescue me from these unjust liars. For you are God, my only safe haven” (Psalm 43:1-2). He’s not sugarcoating anything. He’s not pretending everything is fine. He calls it what it is and goes straight to the only One who always does what is right.

Sometimes in the place of unbelievable injustice, we make a dangerous mistake: we turn away from God, saying things like, “If God really cared, if He really is with me, this wouldn’t be happening.” We silently conclude that God has failed us, and we walk away from the one “safe haven” that never fails. We find ourselves consumed by anger, bitterness, and restlessness. We miss out on God’s peace and goodness, not because He stopped being good, but because we lost sight of who He is.

In his lament, the psalmist questions God: “Why have you tossed me aside? Why must I wander around in grief, oppressed by my enemies?” He’s honest. He’s raw. But notice—he’s still talking with God. He hasn’t turned his back on God. Instead, he brings his confusion and pain to God because He knows God is still with him and can still deliver him. When injustice strips away our comforts and control, we discover something so powerful: not only is God all we really have, God is all we really need to experience peace and joy. Remembering this is the beginning of renewed hope.

When injustice strips away our comforts and control, we discover something so powerful: not only is God all we really have, God is all we really need to experience peace and joy. Remembering this is the beginning of renewed hope.

Notice the injustice is never resolved in Psalm 43. There’s no courtroom scene. No public apology. No instant vindication. The lies are still there. The oppression is still real. But right in the middle of that unresolved mess, the psalmist prays, “Send out your light and your truth; let them guide me. Let them lead me to your holy mountain, to the place where you live. There I will go to the altar of God, to God the source of all my joy. I will praise you with my harp, O God, my God!” (vs. 3-4)

It’s not a fair outcome, a fixed reputation, or a public clearing of his name that will restore his joy. It’s God Himself. What if our prayer when suffering injustice was more like Psalm 43: “God, I want the injustice to stop. But I don’t need it to stop in order to have peace and joy, because You are my peace and joy. God, I want the injustice to stop. But I don’t need it to stop in order to worship you, because You are still God and you are my God.”

It’s not a fair outcome, a fixed reputation, or a public clearing of our name that will restore our joy. It’s God Himself.

There’s a subtle but dangerous lie many of us silently believe when we suffer: “I’ll be okay only when life finally feels fair again.” When people apologize. When truth comes out. When the bullies stop. When the system works. When I feel safe again. But Psalm 43 ends with a different perspective. The writer turns and speaks to his own soul: “Why am I discouraged? Why is my heart so sad? I will put my hope in God! I will praise Him again, my Savior and my God!”

When our response is to run to our Heavenly Father in an intentional choice to worship Him, injustice cannot win. The devil cannot use it to gain a foothold of fear or anger, nor can he gain a stronghold of bitterness or revenge. And those who are the source of the injustice we suffer do not gain the control they think they are taking from us. Worship is key, because when we worship, we are choosing to dwell in His presence and trust Him for His provision and power. And here’s the beautiful thing about worship: worship is the one choice no one can ever take from you!

When our response is to run to our Heavenly Father in an intentional choice to worship Him, injustice cannot win.

Here are three prayer prompts to pray this truth into action in your life:

God, You are… [King, ruler of all, most powerful…good, faithful, present, my Father]

God, I trust that You can rescue me from… [injustice]. “For you are God!”

O God, please give me… as I trust You. [peace, joy, patience, perseverance, hope, faith, assurance]

Worship is the one choice no one can ever take from you!

Copyright © 2026 Jeremiah Porter. All rights reserved.