You Are Going To Be Misunderstood! People Will Question Your Motives! And Yes … Some People Won’t Like You

Today’s "Life Journal" Daily Bible Reading can be found on Line. Click Here!
Ruth 3; Ruth 4; Psalm 64; Psalm 65; 2 Corinthians 6

You Are Going To Be Misunderstood!

People Will Question Your Motives!

And Yes … Some People Won’t Like You

Scripture

2 Corinthians 6

³ We live in such a way that no one will stumble because of us, and no one will find fault with our ministry. ⁴ In everything we do, we show that we are true ministers of God. We patiently endure troubles and hardships and calamities of every kind. ⁵ We have been beaten, been put in prison, faced angry mobs, worked to exhaustion, endured sleepless nights, and gone without food. ⁶ We prove ourselves by our purity, our understanding, our patience, our kindness, by the Holy Spirit within us, and by our sincere love. ⁷ We faithfully preach the truth. God’s power is working in us. We use the weapons of righteousness in the right hand for attack and the left hand for defense.

  ⁸ We serve God whether people honor us or despise us, whether they slander us or praise us. We are honest, but they call us impostors. ⁹ We are ignored, even though we are well known. We live close to death, but we are still alive. We have been beaten, but we have not been killed. ¹⁰ Our hearts ache, but we always have joy. We are poor, but we give spiritual riches to others. We own nothing, and yet we have everything.

¹¹ Oh, dear Corinthian friends! We have spoken honestly with you, and our hearts are open to you. ¹² There is no lack of love on our part, but you have withheld your love from us. ¹³ I am asking you to respond as if you were my own children. Open your hearts to us!

Observation

It was the Apostle Paul that took the Gospel to those living in the city of Corinth and yet those very same people that Paul had won to the Lord attacked Paul and even questioned his integrity and motives for being involved in the ministry. I can feel his pain as he pours out his heart to that troubled church. He reaches out to them but I don’t know if they ever responded to Paul’s love or not.

It hurts to be rejected and it hurts to have our integrity challenged especially for those of us who are in ministry and who are pouring our lives into growing a church. When I was pastor at Tampa Baptist Church (which is now Christ Fellowship) I had a few people question my integrity and my motives for making the changes that I made. Nothing hurts a pastor more than to have people in his congregation express a lack of trust in his character or question the motives of his heart.  

One good thing to remember is that if that the Apostle Paul had to deal with this from the churches he started it shouldn’t surprise us when we run into the same thing. I am just very glad that it was only a small group of people that thought of me in this way.

Application

I will continue to remember that I serve an audience of ONE. I must answer to Him.  

Prayer

Heavenly Father, I pray for Pastor Bruce as he leads our church. I pray that you strengthen him. I pray that You give him supernatural energy to be able to lead us. Bless his family. Bless his ideas and his plans. Answer his prayers. And make his plans successful. Help him not be discouraged if he encounters those who seem to question his integrity or motives. Give him tough skin and keen discernment. 

Today’s "Life Journal" Daily Bible Reading can be found on Line. Click Here!