“Teach me your way, Lord;
lead me in a straight path
because of my oppressors.
Do not turn me over to the desire of my foes,
for false witnesses rise up against me,
spouting malicious accusations.” – Psalm 27:11-12

It started in elementary school when your friend group would turn against you. Anyone who’s ever been a little girl (or a teenage girl or a college girl or in any group of women ever since, and I assume that men are the same ) had it happen: you’re the odd one out. You’re the one that everybody’s talking about at the moment, whether they’ve got a good reason or not.

As a grown-up, at least in the circles that I am in where people tend to have higher profiles, it happens in the news or it happens on social media, and again, there may or may not be a reason. But whichever situation you’re talking about, it feels awful. Being singled out and gossiped about or straight lied about is hurtful and sometimes a little terrifying.

This verse reminds me that we can ask God not to let us succumb to the malicious attacks of Satan and those he uses.

But you notice that David asked first to be led in a straight path BECAUSE of his oppressors. There’s an element of blamelessness that’s necessary in our lives if we are going to stand against those kind of attacks and walk through unscathed. While you can’t change the past, you can ask God to keep you on the straight and narrow as you withstand the storm.

But it can’t just be God‘s hand, it has to be our feet. We ask God to teach us His ways before anything else.

As we think about this, picture Jesus in front of his accusers. What did he do? He stood firm. He didn’t fling accusations back, though he could have.

In Matthew, it quotes the book of Isaiah when it says, “He will not quarrel or cry out. His voice will not be heard in the streets.”

Just keep listening to God‘s teaching. Keep walking that straight path. That’s when the things of earth begin to fade away in the light of His justice and victory. ❤️