Oppression

Again, I saw all the oppressions that are done under the sun. And behold, the tears of the oppressed, and they had no one to comfort them! On the side of their oppressors there was power, and there was no one to comfort them.

Ecclesiastes 4:1 ESV

Oppressors enjoy the power they hold over other people. It makes them feel superior to those below them. The oppressed feel misunderstood and worthless. They are slaves to the one who holds power over them. I think unbelievers feel oppression to the slavery of sin. It captures their hearts and causes them to feel depression, fear, anxiety and other oppressive emotions.

It is when we are unjustly treated that we often cry out to God. He is the One who was MOST UNJUSTLY TREATED and yet He did not “Count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant . . . and humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death (Phil 2:6-8).”

We must be willing to be humble and obedient to the Lord. It’s not until we come to the point of despair and in need of someone to understand where we are and in need of comfort that we see our need for a Savior. And so God will use oppression in our lives to cause us to see our need for a Savior like Him. God is the only One who truly understands us and can rescue us from our sins.