February 5 - Criticism.

Matthew 5:11-12
“Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.”
 
Criticism is disabling. If you have tried to purposefully do anything, especially for the cause of Christ, you are sure to have faced it.
 
One thing that is easy to forget during the course of a critic’s attack is that God has allowed it. His sovereignty doesn’t disappear while the critic’s voice has your mind and ear. The Lord prepares us for His purpose in our lives, and sometimes, He uses even criticism to mold us into what He would have us to be. Most of the time, when it seems like criticism is all around you, God is preparing you for a season of growth in your life and ministry.
 
Take time to pause and discern the criticism you receive. Ask the Lord to help you decide what changes He would have you to make, or for the grace and strength to continue in your purpose despite the critics.
 
Jesus Christ, our High Priest, was touched with the feelings of our infirmities. He was tempted in all points like as we are, yet He was without sin. Isaiah 53 tells us that “He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth…” He didn’t respond to His critics. His example shows us that we can endure the hardness of criticism without surrendering to the fight or losing our testimony. Like a soldier, we can press on toward the mark of our high calling and rejoice in our reward with the knowledge that we are more like Christ when we are persecuted.
 
2 Timothy 2:3-4
“Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier.”
 
Resolve to rejoice!
 
 
Bible Reading:
Exodus 20-21 |  Matthew 15  |  Psalm 5
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