Wrongfully Accused

(Please note that the hi-lited passages provide links to the sites or Scriptures referenced)

"Who is like you, O LORD ? You rescue the poor from those too strong for them, the poor and needy from those who rob them.
Ruthless witnesses come forward; they question me on things I know nothing about.
They repay me evil for good and leave my soul forlorn...
...When I stumbled, they gathered in glee; attackers gathered against me when I was unaware. They slandered me without ceasing.
Like the ungodly they maliciously mocked ; they gnashed their teeth at me.,,
O Lord, how long will you look on? Rescue my life from their ravages, my precious life from these lions.
I will give you thanks in the great assembly; among throngs of people I will praise you.
Let not those gloat over me who are my enemies without cause; let not those who hate me without reason maliciously wink the eye.
They do not speak peaceably, but devise false accusations against those who live quietly in the land...
O LORD, you have seen this; be not silent. Do not be far from me, O Lord.
Awake, and rise to my defense! Contend for me, my God and Lord.
Vindicate me in your righteousness, O LORD my God; do not let them gloat over me.
Do not let them think, "Aha, just what we wanted!" or say, "We have swallowed him up."
May all who gloat over my distress be put to shame and confusion; may all who exalt themselves over me be clothed with shame and disgrace.
May those who delight in my vindication shout for joy and gladness; may they always say,
"The LORD be exalted, who delights in the well-being of his servant."
My tongue will speak of your righteousness and of your praises all day long." (Psalm 35)

You know how people always say "be careful what you pray for?" It is ironic how we pray for something like patience or self-control and then when God actually starts to teach us these things through our real experiences, we react by saying "whoooah - that's not what I meant! Can't you just hand it over to me without all this pain?" Sometimes God can change things within us overnight but other times there are parts of us that He knows are best changed over time, through our own experiences.
Shortly before my divorce and before I even knew there would ever BE a divorce, I naievely prayed that God would deliver me from being a people-pleaser and worrying so much what others thought of me. Well, a divorce will either quickly deliver you from caring what others think OR you will go insane obsessing about what everyone is saying. Divorce is a like a foul retention pond, a perverse breeding ground for all the parasitic rumors, lies, misconceptions, and slander that you can imagine.
As the care-givers in our relationships, those who are involved or affected by addicts or abusers are shocked when these lies and accusations come at us from the other person- we think "what did I do to deserve this?" "How could they say this about me?" Because of our tendency to project everything onto ourselves as "a consequence of something I did wrong" we also, wrongly, tend to worry that the unjustified attacks from others, the lies and false rumors, are a sign of God's disapproval or that we must be doing something wrong or this person and their "friends"
would not be spreading "malicious gossip."
In Acts 13:22, Paul recalls the scripture from 1 Samuel 13:14 where God says of David, author of the above-quoted Psalm 35, "'I have found David son of Jesse a man after my own heart". Here was David, a man so beloved of God that God SPOKE of him as "a man after my own heart." And yet even David, beloved of God the Father, approved and anointed, even David suffered from malicious gossipers, liars, evil-doers (see Psalm 35 above).
Luke 6:46-49 says, "Why do you call me, 'Lord, Lord,' and do not do what I say? I will show you what he is like who comes to me and hears my words and puts them into practice. He is like a man building a house, who dug down deep and laid the foundation on rock. When a flood came, the torrent struck that house but could not shake it, because it was well built. But the one who hears my words and does not put them into practice is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. The moment the torrent struck that house, it collapsed and its destruction was complete."
Notice that there are two types of people Jesus lists here : The person who is pleasing to God, with their house built on the Rock (the solid foundation of God and His Word) or the person with their house built on the sand (the foolish person who trusts in the world and not in the Lord). Does the rain ONLY fall on the foolish man's house in the sand? NO!
It is so important to take notice that Jesus says not only will it "rain" on both houses, but it will FLOOD - there will be TORRENTS (like a hurricane in some cases!) - on BOTH houses.
So when you are standing in the midst of the storm, which WILL come in anyone's life - and when the filthy rains of this world are falling on you, blowing you almost over, soaking you - do NOT assume this rain is falling on you because you have done something "wrong" or because God is "displeased" - Remember that the rain will fall on the foolish AND the wise -
As Matthew 5:45 says, "He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous."
Do not look up into the rain and wonder why the rain is falling on you - the rain will only blind you where you cannot see; this is a waste of time! Instead, look at where you are standing while it is raining. Are you standing firmly on Christ, the ROCK (1 Cor 10:4) who will provide you with the ONLY stability available? Or are you trying (probably unsuccessfully) to stand on the sand, which will shift and change and sink beneath you?
The Lord tells us that the rain WILL fall - we WILL have troubles in this life, no matter what (John 16:33). So, knowing this, what YOU need to think about is not how to avoid the rain, but - How sturdy is YOUR "house" and how will it withstand the storms?
Oh Lord, I know the rains will fall. I know there will be trouble. As long as Satan roams around this earth, there will be lying and evil and pain. But You are my strength. You are my rock. You are my defender. I trust in YOU Lord to keep my feet firmly planted and to hold me up when I feel like I cannot stand up any more. When I am weak, You are strong. Lord, help me build a firm foundation for myself and my children that our house will be built on the rock, forever. Please show me, Lord, if there are any areas I need to change or grow so that my foundation will be firmer, more solid. I believe that You will give me strength Lord and that you will make my foundation secure in Jesus' name - Amen
Psalm 40:1-2
"I waited patiently for the LORD; he turned to me and heard my cry.
He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire;
he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand."

From "THE SOLID ROCK" (A Hymn by Edward Mote)
My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus’ blood and righteousness;
I dare not trust the sweetest frame, But wholly lean on Jesus’ name.
...I rest on His unchanging grace;
In every high and stormy gale, My anchor holds within the veil.
His oath, His covenant, His blood support me in the whelming flood;
When all around my soul gives way, He then is all my hope and stay.
ON CHRIST THE SOLID ROCK I STAND; ALL OTHER GROUND IS
SINKING SAND, ALL OTHER GROUND IS SINKING SAND.
ON CHRIST THE SOLID ROCK I STAND; ALL OTHER GROUND IS SINKING SAND"