Not all threats or accusations directed at us need to be challenged or silenced. It’s not easy to remain silent when unfounded things are being said about us, and our accusers don’t give up. Some of these situations are tests from the Lord to see how we will respond.

A relative of Saul, Shimei, began publicly threatening David and his army by shouting and throwing stones at them. Shimei accused David of stealing Saul’s throne. Shimei shouted, “Get out of here, you murderer, you scoundrel!” he shouted at David. “The Lord is paying you back for all the bloodshed in Saul’s clan. You stole his throne, and now the Lord has given it to your son Absalom. At last, you will taste some of your own medicine, for you are a murderer!” (II Samuel 16: 7-8).

Some of David’s men wanted to kill Shimei to stop his threats. David said, “If the Lord has told him to curse me, who are you to stop him?” (vs. 10). David did not want to act prematurely in an act of self-protection. If David acted prematurely and without wisdom, it might cause him to miss out on something deeper that the Lord wanted to do in David.

David responded by telling his men, “Leave him alone and let him curse, for the Lord has told him to do it. And perhaps the Lord will see that I am being wronged and will bless me because of these curses today.” (vs. 12). It is always a wise choice to leave the outcomes of life in the Lord’s hands, not ours.

Once David had calmed his men, “David and his men continued down the road, but Shimei kept pace with them on a nearby hillside, cursing and throwing stones and dirt at David” (vs.13).

In some seasons of life, when accusations and threats are coming our way, they are not always a one-off. They can follow us for longer than expected.

If the stones of accusation are coming at us, we need to pause and ask the Lord to reveal His deeper work that’s at play. Silencing our accusers should not be our first response. Listening to the Lord and hearing how He wants us to respond needs to be our first choice. If we obey His voice and do what He asks of us, we will have passed a hidden test that is always present in each season of accusation.