Answer me when I call to you, O God who declares me innocent. Free me from my troubles. Have mercy on me and hear my prayer.
How long will you people ruin my reputation? How long will you make groundless accusations? How long will you continue your lies?
You can be sure of this: The Lord set apart the godly for himself. The Lord will answer when I call to him.
Don’t sin by letting anger control you. Think about it overnight and remain silent.
Offer sacrifices in the right spirit, and trust the Lord.
Psalms 4:1-5 NLT
“You can’t abandon things just because they get hard.” Those words still ring in my ears. I was sticking to my guns and not backing down from my newly established boundaries. It was a much dreaded conversation because I knew I’d walk away scarred. Because for me, Words have a way of sitting and digging little wounds in my soul. And this conversation, full of one person’s negative perception of me dug deep. I sat there as she littered the conversation with how I was a quitter and would never go far. At that moment all I could focus on was an exit strategy, I didn’t have time to formulate a rebuttal.
As I read through Psalms 4, this memory came to mind and reminded me of God’s truth. Regardless of what someone else says about me, I am set apart for God’s purposes. I have the ability to cry out to my Heavenly Father for wisdom and guidance. I had to remember the negative words they spewed were not in alignment with what God said about me. I didn’t have to allow them into my soul to grow and fester. I could remind myself of God’s words spoken over me. I’m a conqueror, not a quitter. I’m a finisher, and I will accomplish all that God has for me to accomplish. More importantly, I didn’t have to get angry and prove a point by arguing. If anything, it would lead to more sin.
The best thing to do with unwarranted comments and lies is to relay them to God. He already knows what happened, but He opens our eyes to see the truth. The real truth is that we’re not what other people say about us. We are who God says we are. We are beloved. We are His children. We are a masterpiece of His handiwork. When we truly let that get deep in our soul, we walk in power. We have to be diligent about defending our identity in Christ against the lies of others.
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