Psalm 26

God’s Opinion Counts

‘Declare me innocent, O Lord,
    for I have acted with integrity;
    I have trusted in the Lord without wavering.
Put me on trial, Lord, and cross-examine me.
    Test my motives and my heart.
For I am always aware of your unfailing love,
    and I have lived according to your truth.’ – vs 1-3

God’s opinion should be the one that truly matters to me. He is the One who sees my heart and my inmost thoughts and feelings. He understands my intentions and my thoughts and motives speak louder than the words I say and the things I do. When falsely accused, He is my defence and comfort. When I am pretentious or pious, He gently humbles me and reveals the truth in my heart.

People are flippant; their opinions vary as much as the seasons and the way they feel about me will probably change as many times as our government! While people are important and the things particular close friends and family say means a lot to me, ultimately God needs to have the first and last word in my life. He is God. He knows me and loves me deeply, like no one else.

So then, the application of these words to my heart and life is that I need to put God’s filter on what other people say about me. Do they see my heart? Is there truth in what they say? What does God say about me? What does God want to say to me through others?

Also, how quickly do I judge others? Do I evaluate others by their actions and words, instead of looking for their intention and motives? Do I seek to find the truth about others instead of jumping to my own conclusions? I need to see them through God’s filter- and that is Jesus Christ. He sees them as lovely and blameless because He sees Christ. May I love them by ‘believing all things and hoping all things’ to their benefit.

Lastly, how often do I judge myself and forget who I am in Christ? Paul even says:

‘My conscience is clear, but that doesn’t prove I’m right. It is the Lord himself who will examine me and decide.’ – 1 Corinthians 4:4

When I forget that I’m a new creation in Christ and I allow guilt to influence my life and ministry, I need to look to God and how He judges me. He judged my sin, guilt and shame when it was laid on Jesus on the cross. He took all of God’s judgement that I deserved and took the punishment instead of me. God now sees me as righteous, holy, and blameless. Praise be to God!

‘My dear children, I am writing this to you so that you will not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate who pleads our case before the Father. He is Jesus Christ, the one who is truly righteous. He himself is the sacrifice that atones for our sins—and not only our sins but the sins of all the world.’ – 1 John 2:1-2