“How long will you people ruin my reputation?
How long will you make groundless accusations?
How long will you continue your lies?
You can be sure of this:
The Lord set apart the godly for himself.
The Lord will answer when I call to him.”
—Psalm 4:2-3 NLT

Here David addresses those who lie about him and try to ruin his reputation. Some translations refer to these people as those “who turn his honor into shame.”

The truth is, there are a lot of voices and opinions out there.

Read a post by any well-known figure on social media and you’ll find both “fans” and “haters” in the comments. And they will be extreme.

So the question is: who do we believe?

David reminds us of an essential truth: people have their opinions about who is “good” and who is “bad,” but at the end of the day, God has the last word.

He is the one who can declare someone righteous, or in the words of this psalm, “godly.”

No one else has that authority.

That knowledge will bring peace to some and terror to others, but it leaves us all with a lesson: in the end, only God’s opinion matters.

So forget the fans and the critics. Let your highest aim be to please God, the only one who can determine your worth.

Here is a short prayer to help you invite God into every moment of your day:

Inhale: God,
Exhale: I live for you.