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tinpraStay with the Truth
by Charles R. Swindoll
Read Job 21:1--34
Chances are good that many of you who are reading these lines are currently the target of someone's lying accusations. That can be an anguishing cross to bear. I've been there, so I speak from painful experience. Since this is an ongoing issue for many of us, it should be helpful to draw a few guidelines to follow based on the way Job handled his accuser.
Listen to what is being said, considering the character of the critic. Stay calm! You will be tempted to jump in and rashly react in the flesh, saying things you will later regret. Do your best to listen to what is being said. While doing so, keep in mind the character of the person who is the source of the accusation. Calmly take it all in. Job did that, which prepared him for his further response.
Respond with true facts and accurate information, knowing the nature of your accuser. Speak truth! Stay on the side of accuracy, regardless. The other person may be a former husband or former wife. He or she could be your previous or current boss, an employee, a neighbor, a pastor, or a friend. It doesn't matter who the individual is. If you are being accused, you need to focus only on facts. Don't react or ponder ways to retaliate. If you yield to either temptation, you'll come off sounding like the accuser. God honors integrity. Maybe not immediately, but ultimately you'll be vindicated. Remember David's prayer: "Vindicate me, O LORD, for I have walked in my integrity" (Psalm 26:1). Truth will prevail among people who traffic in it and make their decisions based on it.
Abraham Lincoln was told that he needed to fire his postmaster general. All kinds of accusations were being leveled against the man. Lincoln weighed rumor against hard evidence, and on July 18, 1864, he wrote Secretary Stanton a letter saying he was not going to do that because the information was based on hearsay, not accurate facts. In that letter he correctly concluded, "Truth is generally the best vindication against slander." Wise response.
Stay with the truth. Don't exaggerate it, don't deny it, and don't hesitate to say it.
Harsh but Realistic
by Charles R. Swindoll
Read Job 21:23--34
While speaking the truth Job left the defense of his own character in the Lord's hands. He was firm and deliberate, but he remained in control. I repeat, I understand what it's like to be unjustly maligned. I have been accused of things, and that rumor has kept me awake. It has made my stomach churn. It has taken away my appetite. I have determined not to pay any attention to it, yet found that I was unable to turn it off in my mind. Not until I decided to leave things in the Lord's hands and rest in His sovereign control did I find inner peace. Without exception (please hear this!), not until I deliberately stepped back and leaned hard on my God did my mind begin to relax, my emotions settle down, and my inner peace return. I say again, the truth will win out. And God will be glorified.
Refuse to let the accusations discourage and derail you, remembering they are nonsense and lies. Get tough! Returning to that one-liner from the Revolutionary War, "Trust in God but keep your powder dry," is essential to keeping your balance. You may be trusting the Lord for safety, but you still lock your doors every night, hopefully, and turn on your alarm. When you get in your car, you lock your doors, don't you? You roll up your windows, don't you? If you don't, you are playing with fire. Trusting God is not naive presumption. Wisdom must be applied to a life of faith. Going through hard times requires a get-tough mind-set. Go there. That may seem harsh, but it's realistic. And realism is a powerful message.
To you who are going through a time of false accusation, may God strengthen you in it. May He hold you close through it. May He give you wisdom and grace in responding to it. May He become real and personal to you, even giving you songs in the night and quiet rest with the assurance that He is defending your integrity. And may He toughen your hide so you don't cave in while awaiting vindication.
Demonstrating Class
by Charles R. Swindoll
Read Job 23:1--17
As we get to chapters 23 and 24 of Job, we observe three calm, vulnerable responses from him. Take the time to read through these two chapters---they're magnificent! Job's first theme seems to be, "I am unable to locate the presence of God, but I trust You, Lord." I find that coming through loud and clear in the first twelve verses of chapter 23.
It seems that Job has a courtroom in mind. "I wish I knew the bench on which Almighty God sits. I wish I knew where I could locate Him. Some place---anyplace---on this earth that I could get to Him."
Hidden within these passionate words is found one of the great things about our God. When we come to Him as we are, we never hear Him shout, "Shame on you!" God hears our pleading, our feelings of need, and He is quick to respond, "I forgive you. I love you. I understand you. I'm here; I commend you for facing the truth."
Notice how Job refers to the Lord's response:
All of God's people find here a valuable truth we can learn from our God. When people come, open and vulnerable with their confession, there is one appropriate three-word response: I forgive you. They don't need to be put on the spot or shamed because they failed. They need the assurance of forgiveness.
Job asks, "Would He contend with me?"
Then he answers himself, "He would not contend with me, even though He's much more powerful. He would pay attention to me. I could reason with Him, and I would be delivered forever from my Judge."
How wonderful is that?
Excerpted from Charles R. Swindoll, Great Days with the Great Lives (Nashville: W Publishing Group, 2005). Copyright © 2005 by Charles R. Swindoll, Inc.
by Charles R. Swindoll
Read Job 21:1--34
Chances are good that many of you who are reading these lines are currently the target of someone's lying accusations. That can be an anguishing cross to bear. I've been there, so I speak from painful experience. Since this is an ongoing issue for many of us, it should be helpful to draw a few guidelines to follow based on the way Job handled his accuser.
Listen to what is being said, considering the character of the critic. Stay calm! You will be tempted to jump in and rashly react in the flesh, saying things you will later regret. Do your best to listen to what is being said. While doing so, keep in mind the character of the person who is the source of the accusation. Calmly take it all in. Job did that, which prepared him for his further response.
Respond with true facts and accurate information, knowing the nature of your accuser. Speak truth! Stay on the side of accuracy, regardless. The other person may be a former husband or former wife. He or she could be your previous or current boss, an employee, a neighbor, a pastor, or a friend. It doesn't matter who the individual is. If you are being accused, you need to focus only on facts. Don't react or ponder ways to retaliate. If you yield to either temptation, you'll come off sounding like the accuser. God honors integrity. Maybe not immediately, but ultimately you'll be vindicated. Remember David's prayer: "Vindicate me, O LORD, for I have walked in my integrity" (Psalm 26:1). Truth will prevail among people who traffic in it and make their decisions based on it.
Abraham Lincoln was told that he needed to fire his postmaster general. All kinds of accusations were being leveled against the man. Lincoln weighed rumor against hard evidence, and on July 18, 1864, he wrote Secretary Stanton a letter saying he was not going to do that because the information was based on hearsay, not accurate facts. In that letter he correctly concluded, "Truth is generally the best vindication against slander." Wise response.
Stay with the truth. Don't exaggerate it, don't deny it, and don't hesitate to say it.
Harsh but Realistic
by Charles R. Swindoll
Read Job 21:23--34
While speaking the truth Job left the defense of his own character in the Lord's hands. He was firm and deliberate, but he remained in control. I repeat, I understand what it's like to be unjustly maligned. I have been accused of things, and that rumor has kept me awake. It has made my stomach churn. It has taken away my appetite. I have determined not to pay any attention to it, yet found that I was unable to turn it off in my mind. Not until I decided to leave things in the Lord's hands and rest in His sovereign control did I find inner peace. Without exception (please hear this!), not until I deliberately stepped back and leaned hard on my God did my mind begin to relax, my emotions settle down, and my inner peace return. I say again, the truth will win out. And God will be glorified.
Refuse to let the accusations discourage and derail you, remembering they are nonsense and lies. Get tough! Returning to that one-liner from the Revolutionary War, "Trust in God but keep your powder dry," is essential to keeping your balance. You may be trusting the Lord for safety, but you still lock your doors every night, hopefully, and turn on your alarm. When you get in your car, you lock your doors, don't you? You roll up your windows, don't you? If you don't, you are playing with fire. Trusting God is not naive presumption. Wisdom must be applied to a life of faith. Going through hard times requires a get-tough mind-set. Go there. That may seem harsh, but it's realistic. And realism is a powerful message.
To you who are going through a time of false accusation, may God strengthen you in it. May He hold you close through it. May He give you wisdom and grace in responding to it. May He become real and personal to you, even giving you songs in the night and quiet rest with the assurance that He is defending your integrity. And may He toughen your hide so you don't cave in while awaiting vindication.
Demonstrating Class
by Charles R. Swindoll
Read Job 23:1--17
As we get to chapters 23 and 24 of Job, we observe three calm, vulnerable responses from him. Take the time to read through these two chapters---they're magnificent! Job's first theme seems to be, "I am unable to locate the presence of God, but I trust You, Lord." I find that coming through loud and clear in the first twelve verses of chapter 23.
It seems that Job has a courtroom in mind. "I wish I knew the bench on which Almighty God sits. I wish I knew where I could locate Him. Some place---anyplace---on this earth that I could get to Him."
Hidden within these passionate words is found one of the great things about our God. When we come to Him as we are, we never hear Him shout, "Shame on you!" God hears our pleading, our feelings of need, and He is quick to respond, "I forgive you. I love you. I understand you. I'm here; I commend you for facing the truth."
Notice how Job refers to the Lord's response:
Would He contend with me by the greatness of His power?
No, surely He would pay attention to me.
There the upright would reason with Him;
And I would be delivered forever from my Judge. (Job 23:6--7)
All of God's people find here a valuable truth we can learn from our God. When people come, open and vulnerable with their confession, there is one appropriate three-word response: I forgive you. They don't need to be put on the spot or shamed because they failed. They need the assurance of forgiveness.
Job asks, "Would He contend with me?"
Then he answers himself, "He would not contend with me, even though He's much more powerful. He would pay attention to me. I could reason with Him, and I would be delivered forever from my Judge."
How wonderful is that?
Excerpted from Charles R. Swindoll, Great Days with the Great Lives (Nashville: W Publishing Group, 2005). Copyright © 2005 by Charles R. Swindoll, Inc.