Be still in the presence of the Lord, and wait patiently for him to act. Don’t worry about evil people who prosper or fret about their wicked schemes. (Psalms 37:7 NLT)

 

Shock. Disbelief. Then, anger. These are normal emotions when you’ve been the victim of a smear campaign.

Amina crumpled when her marriage ended due to infidelity. When Ryan’s business partner embezzled from their business, he was furious.  But things got worse, much worse, for both Amina and Ryan when they each became victims of smear campaigns by those who had already wronged them.

Amina’s husband went to all of their friends behind her back and disparaged her with lies. The friends all stopped calling Amina and avoided her. Ryan’s ex-business partner reported false information about the business to the government, causing a tax investigation. “Loose tongues are worse than wicked hands,” goes an old Jewish proverb. It was true: those false words hurt badly in places that already throbbed, adding insult to injury.

The writer of the Bible’s Psalms knew the feeling. “Bring disgrace upon the arrogant people who lied about me” he urged God. “Meanwhile,” he said, “I will concentrate on your commandments” (Psalms 119:78 NLT). At times like this, we want to strike back or plunge into elaborate campaigns to defend ourselves. This is one of those times where God’s wisdom—the kind that the Bible says results in peaceful fruit in our lives, is the opposite of what comes naturally to us. The Psalm writer chose to concentrate, to fix his mind on what God recommends when disparaged by others.

Psalm 37 encourages us to “Be still in the presence of the Lord, and wait patiently for him to act. Don’t worry about evil people who prosper or fret about their wicked schemes” (Psalms 37:7 NLT). God doesn’t say, “Forget about it,” but rather, “Let me handle it…and I WILL.” God is the only one who perfectly executes vengeance where it’s needed (Romans 12:19).