Live Above Criticism by Lisa Burkhardt Worley, D.Min.

Whenever you are in a leadership role, whether in ministry or in secular settings, you will experience criticism. It is a byproduct of being a leader. You can’t avoid it. The question is: How do you handle criticism?

The Apostle Paul, who wrote the bulk of the New Testament, said that through the power of Christ, he could still stand strong under outside pressure. He said, “That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” Paul was saying that through Christ, he could live above” (2 Corinthians 12:10).

Leaders are always under the microscope. Moses faced criticism from his own siblings. The apostles were imprisoned for sharing the gospel. Many of Jesus’s followers left Him during his difficult teaching about His body and His blood (John 6). My love language is “Words of Affirmation” so I still struggle personally with criticism, but I have prayed to handle it better.

How have you faced criticism? How did it impact you?

In his book, The Bait of Satan, John Bevere says, “When you live for the will of God, you will not fulfill the desires of men. As a result, you will suffer in the flesh.”

It is important that we all do a self-check to make sure we are all in the will of God. If we are in the marketplace, it’s just as imperative to ask the LORD, “Am I in the center of your will?” Sometimes criticism is unjust, but sometimes God uses it to replant us in a different job or occupation.

Regardless, if we are leaders, or want to be a leader, it’s important to stay bathed in prayer, so that when criticism comes, and it will, we can live above.

#

We want to see you in Austin on Saturday! t’s not to late to sign up for the Level-Up Women’s Conference in Austin. You need to attend on April 25th from 9:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m. at Wells Branch Community Church. Register today at: https://levelupconferenceaustin.eventbrite.com.