A Plea To The God Who Declares Us Innocent

Answer me when I call to you,

O God who declares me innocent.

Free me from my troubles.

Have mercy on me and hear my prayer.

Psalm 4:1

Gossip and slander ruins relationships and destroys a person’s confidence. Many times, we’re tempted to counter gossip with destructive words of our own. But David offers us a better solution. In this psalm, he responds to false accusations by appealing to God, who could declare him innocent. Likewise, we can look to God when we are slandered, for he is the one who decides if we are innocent or not. We do not need to fear the accusations of others. At another level, we do not need to fear the accusations of the great accuser (which is what Satan means), for the Lord has declared his people innocent through the death of his Son, Jesus Christ.

Spend time today thanking God for declaring you innocent.

• Dear Lord, I praise you for declaring me innocent . . .