Neutralising Malice and Slander

UV 1675/10000 Neutralising Malice and Slander
Therefore prophesy and say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Because they have made you desolate, and swallowed you up on every side, that ye might be a possession unto the residue of the heathen, and ye are taken up in the lips of talkers, and are an infamy of the people:
Ezekiel 36 v 3

Slander is a weapon that is used to crush our spirits. Our foes attempt to lay waste our potential, to deny us opportunities for advancement and destroy our hope by spreading lies and false accusations behind our back on all sides. But the Lord promises to deliver us from the lips of such malicious talk. He is our shield from this insidious weapon and He makes plans for our deliverance from such plots to defame us. Their own tongues become the swords with which they cut their own heads. The stone that they roll onto us will roll back on them. They will fall in the very pit they dig for us. Those who slander others do not stop with just talking but move on to scheming against those they talk about maliciously.

The spirit that moves people to slander is called the Jezebel spirit for Jezebel the queen of Ahab got people to falsely accuse the innocent and had them put to death. She attempted to do the same to the prophet Elijah but the Lord delivered him from all her plots. She was jealous of the power of God manifested in Elijah. When we are greatly blessed of the Lord, it provokes envy, jealousy and consequential slander. People will attribute motives to even the best of our actions or initiatives. Jealousy is like a kind of madness for which there is no medicine or cure. But the Lord can neutralise and preserve those who walk close to Him as He did with Mordecai, Esther and the Jews against the evil machinations of Haman, the powerful adviser to the King.

Jesus acts as our eternal Mordecai to nurture us and care for us when we are defenceless and vulnerable as the orphan Esther was. He is also the Mordecai who counsels and advices us in our difficult days. He is the Mordecai who raises us up and lifts us up in the eyes of our enemies and seats us at the banqueting table of the Lord. He is the Mordecai who for ever intercedes on our behalf and acts to deliver us from every form of evil, malice and threats. We therefore, need to trust Him and talk with Him, sharing our concerns and burdens.

Prateep V Philip