Slander

 When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to him and said, "I am God Almighty; walk before me faithfully and be blameless. Genesis 17:1

Written down in one of my journals is this prayer, "Father, do not allow me to slander Your ministry to and through me by failing to recognize You as Almighty." To slander someone is to give or spread false information about them. How often might we, you and I, "slander" His name by living and believing in such a way as to present to the world a view of Him that is false? I think that one of the most common ways we do this is our failure to live and trust that He is exactly who He told Abram that He was; God Almighty.

When those around us see us in one of the many "crisis" points that life can bring, what do they see as far as our belief and trust in the God we have been saying that we trust and believe in? Do we give a witness that underscores that He's the faithful and mighty God we've been claiming. Or has that witness crumbled in the face of the unforeseen place we find ourselves in? The size of our God can shrink immensely in the face of the giants and mountains that come upon us, all of which seem suddenly much bigger, greater, and more powerful than Him. When we fearfully yield to the threat they pose to us, we end up slandering our God, no matter unintentional that may be. We're telling those that are looking on that He really isn't all powerful....Almighty.

Jesus is in every way, the exact representation of His Father. All that the Father is, is found in His Son, Jesus Christ. Throughout the Gospels, we witness Christ commanding nature, circumstances, people, and the demons of hell. Yet, we fail so often to believe He can command the events of our lives. They overwhelm us, and so we feel they have also overwhelmed Him. In such times, we need to hear the voice of the Father, the same Father that spoke to Abram. "I am God Almighty. Walk before Me faithfully and be blameless." Be blameless especially in your witness as to His faithfulness and might on our behalf. On you and my behalf.

The young Christian singer Anne Wilson sings a song titled "My Jesus," which she wrote and sang at the funeral of her older brother, killed in a car accident. She said as she struggled with a loss she couldn't understand, she one day heard the whisper of His voice asking, "Will you trust Me....even in this?" She would, and out of that came a proof of how almighty He is. In the ashes of her sorrow, He brought beauty. In the midst of her loss, He brought peace and comfort to countless lives who also suffered loss. The might and power of God is not as often seen in what He prevents or saves us from, but in what He does in and through our lives in the midst of what threatens us. Jesus promised that we would experience pain and sorrow in this fallen world, but He also promised that He has overcome that world, and in Him, so have we. In that we see the almighty power of our Father God, and His Son and Holy Spirit.

So, in our sorrow, and troubles, mountains, giants and obstacles, let us not slander the name of the God we say we trust and believe. Paul said that we are "more than conquerors" in Christ. Let us prove to the world, again and again, how true that promise is. We refuse to slander His name, but instead, bring it glory.

Blessings,

Pastor O