Courage in the Face of Criticism By Paul Chappell Thursday, Jul 17, 2014 “Then David and the people that were with him lifted up their voice and wept, until they had no more power to weep. And David’s two wives were taken captives, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail the wife of Nabal the Carmelite. And David was greatly distressed; for the people spake of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved, every man for his sons and for his daughters: but David encouraged himself in the LORD his God.” 1 Samuel 30:4–6 There is no way to avoid criticism in this life. Everything we do has some element with which someone can find fault; and if we do nothing, someone may critique us for that. While there are sometimes valuable lessons to be learned from our critics, often those people who condemn the loudest do not have our best interests at heart. Jacques Plante, a successful professional hockey goalie with the Montreal Canadians described his job this way: “How would you like it in your job if every time you made a small mistake, a red light went on over your desk and fifteen thousand people stood up and yelled at you?” The question we face is not how to avoid criticism, but rather how to respond to it when it comes. We can allow it to steal our courage and drive us to quit, or we can allow the criticism to drive us closer to God and draw strength from Him. The situation that David faced was extreme, but it holds a wonderful lesson for us. The village where he and his men lived was raided while they were away fighting, and their goods were stolen and their families taken. David’s men were so distraught that they even talked about killing him! Yet in that darkness, David turned to God and found the strength and courage to win back all that was taken away. Today’s Renewal Principle: Since God will never forsake us, we always have a source of hope and strength no matter what our critics say.
Posted on: Sat, 19 Jul 2014 10:36:11 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015