By Jeanette Hanscome

I was working at a preschool the year of the O.J. Simpson murder trial. I’ll never forget the day when the staff hovered around a portable radio, listening for the verdict. 

Not guilty.

“No!” Mary punched the desk. 

Jo cried out, “What?”

I just stood there, wordless.

Everyone believed the former football star was guilty. After a year dominated by a real-life courtroom drama, we did not feel justice had been served.  

Years later, America cried out again when a young mother named Casey Anthony was acquitted of murdering her own child. Even her relatives testified against her. But some errors were made in the investigation, so she went free. 

These infamous cases remind us that our “justice” system is hopelessly flawed. 

Where Is the Judge?

Thousands of years ago, Job wrestled with injustices of a different kind. “The fatherless child is snatched from the breast; the infant of the poor is seized for a debt. Lacking clothes, they go about naked; they carry the sheaves, but still go hungry” (Job 24:9, 10). 

The innocent suffered while God seemed to stand back and let the wicked get away with it. But as Job called on God for answers to why, he realized a truth that put his heart at rest—the cruel and unjust could only flourish for so long. The perfect judge was taking notes, and eventually the guilty would pay the price.

Ultimate Justice

Today O.J. Simpson is in jail for another crime and is in poor health. His name alone prompts groans. Casey Anthony is a free woman, but what kind of life can she possibly build when everyone thinks she’s a murderer? 

Even when the guilty go free, they aren’t truly free. Whether they answer to society or not, they answer to God. 

Ordinary life is full of injustices and times when the innocent suffer while the bad guys win. As we try to understand the world’s upside-down system and look to God for answers, Job’s realization can bring us peace: “He may let them rest in a feeling of security, but his eyes are on their ways” (Job 24:23).

Jeanette Hanscome is the author of many articles and four books, including Running with Roselle, cowritten with 9/11 survivor Michael Hingson, who is blind. She lives in the Bay Area and has two amazing sons.