Let God Be Your Defender - Daily Hope with Rick Warren - April 28, 2023

Let God Be Your Defender
By Rick Warren

“I depend on God alone; I put my hope in him. He alone protects and saves me; he is my defender, and I shall never be defeated. My salvation and honor depend on God; he is my strong protector; he is my shelter.” Psalm 62:5-7 (GNT)

You’ll always have people in your life who misunderstand you and don’t like you. Others will criticize you, judge you, attack you, and spread rumors about you.

In all of these circumstances, your natural tendency will be to fight back. When you’re misunderstood, you’ll want to defend yourself. When you’re attacked, you’ll be tempted to launch your own attack. When people criticize you, you’ll want to criticize them. When people insult you, you’ll want to hurl back your own insults.

Don’t do it! Instead, let God be your defender. Every time you are attacked, criticized, ridiculed, or misunderstood, you have two choices: You can defend yourself, or you can let God defend you. Which will it be? Who do you think can do a better job defending you? You or God? Of course, God can.

Pay attention to this: You’re most like Christ when you say nothing in the face of attacks, lies, and unfair criticism. You’re most like Jesus when you remain silent and leave it in God’s hands.

The Bible says, “When [Jesus] was insulted, he did not answer back with an insult; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but placed his hopes in God, the righteous Judge” (1 Peter 2:23 GNT).

In the face of his unjust conviction and persecution, Jesus did not fight back. When it mattered most, he trusted God to defend him and bring ultimate justice.

King David was criticized and attacked his entire life. In fact, people repeatedly wanted to kill him because they were jealous of him.

But David said this: “I depend on God alone; I put my hope in him. He alone protects and saves me; he is my defender, and I shall never be defeated. My salvation and honor depend on God; he is my strong protector; he is my shelter” (Psalm 62:5-7 GNT).

People will be jealous of your success, and some will even want to attack you. But like David, you need to let God be your protector, your Savior, your defender, your victor, and your shelter.

Let God handle it. Let him be your defense.

PLAY today’s audio teaching from Pastor Rick

For more Daily Hope with Rick Warren, please visit pastorrick.com!

Be Encouraged Each Day to Live Out God’s Purposes

As thanks for your gift below to help share the gospel with more people around the world through Daily Hope, we’ll send you Pastor Rick’s new book, Daily Hope Devotional: 365 Days of Purpose, Peace, and Promise.

Each devotional starts out with a Bible verse, followed by teaching that explains God’s Word and shows you how to apply it daily so you can face any challenge and live the life you were created to live.

As a special bonus when you give, we’ll also send you What's Driving Your Life?: A 10-Day Turnaround for a Fresh Start. Featuring 10 hand-picked devotions from Pastor Rick’s new book, they’ll guide anyone feeling stressed, worried, or discouraged toward seeking God for a fresh start.

Request your copy below when you give—and take the first step towards a year of real purpose, lasting peace, and unfailing promises.

Thank you for your partnership!

*The USA IRS code permits you to deduct the amount of your financial gift to Daily Hope that exceeds the fair market value of materials you received from Daily Hope.

This devotional © 2018 by Rick Warren. All rights reserved. Used by permission.

You can listen to Rick Warren on OnePlace.com.