Psalm 4:1 Smear campaigns

Psalm 4:1   Smear campaigns
  The background to this Psalm is so familiar; David is being slandered and maligned by his detractors.  It seems that some calamity has befallen the nation and the king is getting the blame! Lies are being told, a smear campaign has begun, and the reputation of the Sovereign is under threat.  As usual, if something goes wrong, culpability is laid at the feet of the one in charge.  David, quite rightly, turns to the Lord his God and prays for relief and for mercy.

The Satan is a master of such campaigns and his emissaries gleefully turn on Christians in leadership positions although the whispering campaign can affect all of us. The whispering starts in our own heads, but it can also come from the lips of our detractors.
It goes something like this: -
You’re the reason it went wrong
You messed up again
You should have seen it coming
Surely you know better
You are not worthy
You don’t know what you’re doing
Someone else ought to be in charge

The first step in dealing with this kind of thing is to turn to the Lord.  Am I right with Him? Do I have a good conscience before Him and if I don’t then let me not be too proud to confess and hold my hands up in acknowledgement.  If I am right before God, then I will seek His help and His deliverance. v1 is a good prayer to start with, followed by v3. “Know that the Lord has set apart his faithful servant for himself; the Lord hears when I call to him.” We can say that to all our human enemies and to our spiritual assailants.

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