For in You, O Lord, I hope; You will hear, O Lord my God. For I said, “Hear me, lest they rejoice over me, lest, when my foot slips, they exalt themselves against me.” (Psalm 38:15-16)
As was discussed in the previous devotion, more often than not, it is far better that we should keep silent in the face of our adversaries than to speak out of our anger and make matters worse. Our silence may be misinterpreted as weakness but so be it — to refrain from defending ourselves in certain matters is to exhibit a strength the wicked would not understand. The more aggressive person might mistakenly think that we are intimidated by them but it is not important what they think; it is important that we always represent our Messiah well and, in a heated situation, temperance and self control is expected from us.
In fact, I would argue that in these kind of situations, there are those the Adversary puts in our path solely for the purpose of provoking some kind of angry response. Let’s face it — there are people in this world who thrive on conflict and controversy. For the followers of Messiah to be drawn in by such would be stepping into the snare they have laid out. They would love for our foot to slip and our tongue to lash out; the more we argue with them, the more ammunition we give them to use against us.
If you don’t say it, it can’t be used against you. Think about that in light of how many times wicked people, in the guise of religion, tried to trap Messiah into saying something they could use against Him; He was always a few steps ahead of them. But the point is, that is what the wicked do in regard to the righteous; they look for something to condemn us with so that they can rejoice and “exalt themselves” over us. Rather than playing their game, let us be focused on the Father’s business; let’s be dedicated to pursuing righteousness and His Kingdom. Don’t worry about defending your reputation in the eyes of the wicked; build your reputation in the eyes of God because His opinion is the one that matters; “for in You, O Lord, I hope.”
Blessings and Shalom,
Bill
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