HAVE YOU BEEN FALSELY and UNFAIRLY ACCUSED?
PT 2 of 2
DON'T LIVE IN THE SWAMP OF BITTERNESS.
There is a better way. If someone objects that forgiveness costs too much, I simply reply that unforgiveness costs much more. I recommend that simple prayer of forgiveness, understanding that when we forgive those who have sinned against us, we are only doing what Messiah did when He forgave us first.
Put your life and reputation in YAHWEH’S hands.
It’s easier to do this when life is going well and everyone loves you and you have no problems, no worries, and everything is right in your world. It’s a lot harder to put your life in Elohim’s hands when you feel the pressure of constant criticism. But that’s when we most need the Heavenly Fathers help. And if we feel like we can’t trust the Master/Lord when we are unfairly accused, we need to ponder these words:
“To this you were called, because Messiah suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in His steps. ‘He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth.’ When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted Himself to him who judges justly” (1 Peter 2:21-23).
Notice that Peter emphasizes what Yahshua Messiah didn’t do when he was unfairly accused:
He didn’t hurl insults.
He didn’t retaliate.
He didn’t curse and swear.
He made no threats.
I submit to you that this is not a natural way to live. When we are insulted, our natural inclination is to return an insult for an insult. But Yahshua Messiah chose another way. “He never said a word." “As a sheep before her shearers is silent, so He opened not His mouth” (Isaiah 53:7). When he stood before Pilate and Herod, and when he faced the jeering mob, he uttered no insults, he made no threats.
You find out what you really believe when others mistreat you. Sometimes the real test of your faith is what you don’t do. Sometimes you’ll be a better Believer by not saying anything at all.
What was His secret? How did He do it?
The answer lies in the final phrase of verse 23-
“He entrusted himself to him who judges justly."
In our day we hear a lot of talk about claiming our rights. That spirit comes into the congregation (church) and we hear people getting angry and saying, “How dare you trample on my rights?" Most of our problems stem from claiming our rights. But the Bible turns that upside down. You aren’t to think of your rights first. You are to think of others first.
Sometimes the real test of your faith is what you don’t do.
Let me ask you a question. Do you think Yahshua was a helpless victim that day at Calvary?
He was the Son of YAHWEH Elohim (God). He had the power to call down a legion of angels to set him free. He had but to say the word and all of heaven would come to his aid. But he never said that word.
Consider carefully a quote from Christian leader of an earlier generation from the renowned British Bible teacher F. B. Meyer:
We make a mistake in trying always to clear ourselves. We should be wiser to go straight on, humbly doing the next thing, and leaving God to vindicate us. “He shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light, and thy judgment as the noon day.”
There may come hours in our lives when we shall be misunderstood, slandered, falsely accused. At such times it is very difficult not to act on the policy of the men around us in the world. They at once appeal to law and force and public opinion. But the believer takes his case into a higher court and lays it before his or her Heavenly Father.
That is exactly what Yahshua did and it is exactly what we are called to do.
If we believe in YAHWEH’S sovereignty, then we must believe HE has allowed the attacks and unfair accusations. If that is true, then even the worst that others do to us somehow serves a higher purpose. Certainly, one part of that higher purpose must be to demonstrate to the world how a child of Elohim reacts when we are crushed under an avalanche of unfairness.
The cross of Messiah made no sense at the time. It seemed like a terrible injustice had been done for no purpose at all. Yet when man did his worst, YAHWEH did his best. Out of the monstrous murder of the Son of YAHWEH, salvation came to the world.
We are going to heaven because a GOOD MAN was FALSELY accused.
We are saved because HE did not try to save Himself.
We are forgiven through the bloody death of an INNOCENT MAN.
When man did his worst, YAHWEH did HIS BEST.
By HIS stripes we are healed.
YAHWEH knew what HE was doing that day when darkness covered the whole earth. Are we willing to entrust ourselves to that kind of Elohim whose ways are far above our own?
When we are falsely and unfairly accused, we are to turn the other cheek, bless those who curse us, and return good for evil. We are not to retaliate, nor to threaten, nor to get even. Yahshua showed us how to live, and HE showed us how to die.
When we live like this, we are truly doing what Yahshua would do.
When we live like this, we will baffle and astound the world around us.
And we will experience the miracle of healing that comes when we dare to follow Yahshua all the way to the cross.
