“I hear that I’m being painted as cringing and wishy-washy when I’m with you, but harsh and demanding when at a safe distance writing letters.” (2 Corinthians 10:1 MSG)
St. Paul shows us how to handle supporters as well as detractors. He faced criticism about his writing, his preaching, his credentials as an Apostle, his leadership, his personality, and his past. Most of us would cave into our feelings of insecurity and decide we must have misheard our calling. St. Paul confronts his critics head on. When his detractors tell him that he is not impressive, he responds: You’re right, I’m not, but-- “I can do everything through Christ who gives me strength.” (Philippians 4:13 NLT)
There will always be detractors who question our motives, style, substance, credentials, intelligence, or ability. We can either feel insecure and back down, we can boldly continue to pursue our calling. If we rely on our own talents to do our assignment, criticism will tear us down. However, when we depend completely on God’s power--we are unfazed by challengers. Our confidence comes from the Lord’s sufficiency, not our own.
“None of this fazes us because Jesus loves us. I’m absolutely convinced that nothing--nothing living or dead, angelic or demonic, today or tomorrow, high or low, thinkable or unthinkable--absolutely nothing can get between us and God’s love because of the way that Jesus our Master has embraced us.” (Romans 8:37-39 MSG)
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