Matthew 9:35
“And Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people.”
In the previous verse the Pharisees said about Jesus, “He casteth out devils through the prince of the devils.” This was a bold statement that they made about Him. They were saying that He was possessed with devils. I know what my natural response would be if someone said that about me, but Jesus didn’t let their attacks and criticisms stop Him from doing what He was supposed to do. Instead, the verse above says that “Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom…” Instead of stopping to defend Himself or to get in a tit for tat squabble with the Pharisees, Jesus kept on doing what He was supposed to do.
You will find as you serve the LORD that the Devil will use many tactics to get you off track. One of the main tactics he uses to sidetrack you is to have people throw criticisms and attacks your direction. He knows that our natural reaction is to defend ourselves. Nobody likes it when they are falsely accused, but you must not let their criticisms and attacks sidetrack you from what you are supposed to do.
When criticisms and attacks come your direction, you must realize that you are making an impact. The enemy is not concerned with those who are not making an impact. They are concerned with those who are harming their sinful ways. If you were not making an impact, the Devil would leave you alone. Always remind yourself when criticisms and attacks come your way that apparently you are making a difference because the Devil would not be concerned with you if your work had no influence. Knowing you’re making a difference can certainly comfort you during times of criticisms and attacks.
Moreover, when criticisms and attacks come your direction, let your works defend you. The one thing the enemy would love for you to do is to stand up and defend yourself. If you are doing what you are supposed to do, your character will defend you. This is why it’s so important to make sure you are improving your character on a daily basis because you never know when you will need it in times of criticisms and attacks.
Furthermore, stay focused on what brought the criticisms and attacks. If what you were doing caused the enemy to feel that you are making an impact, then the best thing you can do is to stay on course and don’t stop what’s making the impact. The whole reason they throw criticisms and attacks your way is to sidetrack you from what you are doing. It’s so tempting to stop and fight the enemy when you are being criticized and attacked, but you cannot get off focus from the LORD’s work.
Finally, always remember that time will reveal that you were right if you’re doing right. We know today that Jesus was right, but time had to reveal it. Time is a great vindicator. If you will keep doing what you are supposed to do, then time will show who was right and who was wrong. As hard as it is to wait for time to vindicate, you must keep doing right realizing you will eventually get vindicated.
Christian, the Devil is going to level attacks and criticisms your direction. Don’t let them sidetrack you from helping people, soul winning, standing for truth and doing right. Keep doing what you are supposed to do and you will find that the LORD will reveal to all that you were right.