In my distress I cried unto the Lord, and he heard me. Deliver my soul, O Lord, from lying lips, and from a deceitful tongue. —Psalm 120:1-2, KJV
Are you in distress at the moment because someone has falsely accused you? Whatever the cause, perhaps you have never realized that God has permitted the distress, and, because you lack this perspective, you fear that you will break under the strain. But God is saying, “I am behind all that is going on right now; I am the Architect of the distress. And do you know why? It is the only way I could get your attention.”
One form of distress that God uses to get our attention is caused by the deceit of others. This was the origin of the psalmist’s distress, because he had been criticized unfairly. (See verse 2.)
Maybe part of the reason you are in distress is that you have been criticized, and it hurts. Criticism is painful. In fact, sometimes the criticism that we don’t want to hear is the hardest to take because it is true. “Faithful are the wounds of a friend” (Prov. 27:6, KJV).
But the psalmist was the victim of a deceitful tongue. The psalmist had either been lied to or lied about. What is a lie? A lie is an untrue statement with the intent to deceive. If you have been lied about, eventually the truth will come out. I guarantee it.
It can be very painful, however, during that time of postponement. Maybe that’s where you are. Perhaps you have lost your job because someone lied about you; perhaps you have lost a friendship because something was said that wasn’t true; perhaps you have lost influence because somebody lied about you, and there is not a thing you can do to defend yourself.
Remember who is on your side: God. God is truth; it is impossible for him to lie (Heb. 6:18). The day is coming when God will clear not only His own name, but your name, too.
Excerpted from Higher Ground (Christian Focus Publications Ltd., 1995).
