“1O Lord, fight those fighting me; declare war on them for their attacks on me. 2Put on your armor, take your shield and protect me by standing in front. 3Lift your spear in my defense, for my pursuers are getting very close. Let me hear you say that you will save me from them. 4Dishonor those who are trying to kill me. Turn them back and confuse them. 5Blow them away like chaff in the wind—wind sent by the Angel of the Lord. 6Make their path dark and slippery before them, with the Angel of the Lord pursuing them. 7For though I did them no wrong, yet they laid a trap for me and dug a pitfall in my path. 8Let them be overtaken by sudden ruin, caught in their own net and destroyed.” (Psalm 35:1-8 TLB).
No matter where we are in life, no matter what we do, there will always be critics. I watch our President (no matter which of the 11 I’ve lived my life under) and no matter what course of action he takes, there are always those claiming it was the wrong course of action and a frenzied media to evaluate the situation with their own biased spin on the events.
Years ago I was the director of a camp for troubled young people. I remember giving the rules of the camp to one group of very defiant young women. One particularly stood out. Everything I said was met with a click of the tongue (a sign of disgust), a roll of the eyes and a toss of her head. As I finished the orientation I made a very positive and affirming statement which was met with a very comical beginning click, half rolled eyes and a caught toss of the head. Today you could almost hear Homer Simpson “D’OH!” This critic was caught in the act. If only all were that simple!
All of us know the pain of false pursuit, harmful lies, and personal attacks. The Psalmist continues, “These evil men swear to a lie. They accuse me of things I have never even heard about. I do them good, but they return me harm. I am sinking down to death. When they were ill, I mourned before the Lord in sackcloth, asking him to make them well; I refused to eat; I prayed for them with utmost earnestness, but God did not listen. I went about sadly as though it were my mother, friend, or brother who was sick and nearing death. But now that I am in trouble they are glad; they come together in meetings filled with slander against me—I didn’t even know some of those who were there.” (Psalm 35:11-15 TLB). It’s amazing to watch people come out of the wood-work for a good roast! There isn’t a pastor alive who has not had the experience of ministering care to people only to have them get well and turn viciously on them.
What do we do in times like these? The Psalmist knew. Give the issue over to God. Most commentators believe that David wrote this Psalm during the years he was being hunted by Saul. During this time, David had the opportunity to take matters into his own hands, yet he steadfastly refused. David realized that God does a much better job of setting things right, even if it does not appear to be in the timely manner for which we sometimes wish.
I don't know what issues you may be facing today, perhaps a friend or co-worker has suddenly turned against you or perhaps you are stinging from lies and rumors being spread about you. If you find yourself in such a predicament, you can do one of two things: you can stress over it and try to make it right, or you can entrust the issue to God and let Him work. I have learned over the years that when I try to fix certain things, I just end up in the way. Let go and let God work.
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