“For the Lord is our judge; the Lord is our lawgiver; the Lord is our king; he will save us.” (Isaiah 33:22, ESV)
When I moved to Savannah, Georgia, one of the SBC pastors told me that the average length of time a pastor stayed in an SBC church in Savannah was 18 months. I really could not believe it. I thought, “Why was there such a pastoral turn over?” I observed and found that the high rate of turnover was not due to doctrinal or moral problems with the pastors. In some cases, the pastors resigned due to pressures by key members of the church. In some cases, the governing body of the church asked the pastors to leave.
What were the issues? In some cases parishioners felt a pastor’s message was too strong. In other cases, they felt a message was too weak. Often they disagreed with the pastor’s vision or decisions that he made. In my tenure there I had occasions where people judged my performance, not on the grounds of doctrine or morality, but on the choices that I made. This problem is not just one affecting those in vocational ministry. It plagues everyone in our society in every aspect of life.
How does one keep his sanity under a barrage of judgmental criticism based upon things that are so subjective? The precept presented in Isaiah 33:22 is vital in maintaining your sanity in a world where people will judge and criticize you. We must realize four things.
First, we must realize that “the Lord is our judge.” We are here to serve the Lord. He is the only one who can truly judge how we are doing in our calling and conduct of life. If we worry about pleasing men, we will ultimately lose our sanity and react to the judgmental attitudes of people inappropriately. We are not here to please men, but to fulfill the purposes of God.
Second, we must realize that “the Lord is our lawgiver.” As the lawgiver, the Lord establishes the standard by which we are to conduct ourselves. If we are living by the Spirit, which means to seek the purposes of the Lord in accordance with His word, we will be doing what He desires. If we are confident that we are doing what the Lord wants in the way He wants us to do it, we need not worry about how others view us. If we are doing the Lord’s will in the Lord’s way, we should be confident.
Third, we must also realize that “the Lord is our King.” He is sovereign over all the affairs of our life, including the times when we feel unduly judged by others and criticized. None of this surprises the Lord. He uses all of this for glorious purposes in His divine program, which includes working things for the good in our lives (Romans 8:28).
Last, we must realize that the Lord “will save us.” He is our shield and defense. Woe be it to those who abuse the child of God who is endeavoring to walk with the Lord. Remember, the Scriptures say that the Lord will avenge.
“Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.”” (Romans 12:19, ESV)
Therefore, never retaliate when people abuse you. Trust in the Lord. He will make things right. Do not become defensive. Do not fight back with words. Do not respond with passive aggressive behavior.
Remember, you are a child of God. Do not allow the attacks of others to defeat you emotionally. If you are doing what is right in the eyes of the Lord walk confidently and let it go.
Renewing the Heart 