False accusations hurt!
Job suffered false accusations for much of 35 chapters.
Paul, after pouring himself into the Corinthians, was accused by them of not being a true apostle, being deceitful, taking advantage of them, speaking poorly, and more. (2 Corinthians 10-12)
Most, or maybe all, of us have been accused of character, motives or behavior that were not true. The closer the accuser was to us, the more we cared about him or her, the more it hurt.
But God
I love that phrase: “But God!”
But God, our sovereign, loving God is for us and with us. He has a purpose for those accusations in our lives.
The Accuser
We may not ever know the motive of the accuser. Perhaps they are just mistaken and don’t mean harm. Sometimes the accuser knows his or her own tendencies/sins and assumes we have engaged in the same problem. Sometimes the accuser is bearing false witness sinfully (Exodus 20:16).
In any case, pray for your accuser.
What to do
Go to God!
Check your conscience. Is there any truth in the accusation? If so, confession and atonement is in order.
Job was bewildered, and defended himself. God eventually answered Job out of the whirlwind, and Job repented and worshipped God. Job never learned why all that had happened, but we know God, for His own purposes, allowed it.
Paul responded to the accusations because the gospel was at risk. He proved himself to prevent the Corinthians from turning from the truth of the gospel to lies.
Defending ourselves may, or may not, be a good idea. Ask God!
There may be steps to take with your accuser, which will help. Ask God!
Remind yourself about God’s good purpose for you. Everything God brings into our lives, including false accusations, are to make us into the image of Christ.
In Paul’s case, and most likely in ours, God’s purpose was to humble him, to keep him from exalting himself (2 Corinthians 12:7). It was a gift of God.
Praise God
Praise God that He is making us into the image of Christ (Romans 8:29).
Praise God that He is bringing us to glory (Romans 8:30).
Praise God that He is for us, and with us (Romans 8:31, Matthew 28:20).
Praise God that His grace is sufficient for us (2 Corinthians 12:9).
Press on
