Let God defend you - Tuesday Theology: From Stressed to Blessed

There are people who simply don’t like you.

Some criticize out of envy. Others out of fear. Some sit in your own family and never have a kind word, no matter what you do.

If you succeed, they talk it down.

Criticism and conflict are among the heaviest forms of stress we have.

And our first impulse is always the same: hit back. Set the record straight. Prove them wrong.

The sixth Tuesday in From Stressed to Blessed. Today, about the hard thing: what do we do with those who are against us?

The internet has made it worse.

Behind a screen people say things they'd never say face to face. They wouldn't have the nerve. But in the comment section they spew venom they'd never dare look you in the eye with.

Here's something worth remembering: small people make others small.

When someone constantly puts others down, what they reveal most of all is how little heart they have themselves. Big people make others feel big.

So how do you handle those people? The short answer is: you don't. You let God do it.

David knew what it meant to be attacked. Not just with words, but literally.

He was anointed king as a young man, but then spent years of his life on the run from a king who wanted him dead. He hid in caves. Rumors were spread about him. He was mocked and belittled.

And still he never said an evil word back.

And look at what he writes:

"You prepare a table for me in the sight of my enemies. You make me your guest of honor and fill my cup to the brim." (Psalm 23:5)

It's a picture. David is saying: God is so good to me that he sets a feast for me while my enemies look on.

He makes me the guest of honor in the middle of the attack. I don't need to defend myself. God does that.

Elsewhere he writes the same thing, while sitting in a cave on the run:

"I love the Lord, he is my rescue. The Lord is my rock and my protector. He is my hiding place; in him I take refuge. He is my shield, my salvation and my stronghold." (Psalm 18:2-3)

Does that sound like a stressed man? No. Yet he writes it from a cave.

It takes faith to rest when you're under attack. And it takes humility not to hit back.

But you actually resemble Jesus most when you stay silent under criticism.

Jesus was attacked constantly, not by ordinary people, but by the religious ones. They called him a glutton, a drunkard, a false prophet.

And when he finally stood accused before Pilate, he answered not a single word. He wouldn't even dignify the lie with a reply.

He had laid himself in his Father's hands.

Try it this week. Next time someone attacks you, don't set the record straight right away. Stay silent, and hand them over to God.

It feels like losing. But it's the strongest thing you can do.

Who is it you're spending energy defending yourself against — and what would happen if you handed them over to God?

How do you handle criticism? Feel free to share your experiences in the comments.

You don't have to be your own lawyer. You have a better one.