If
you are following the path of Jesus-you will be misunderstood!
Well-meaning Christians who do not understand your unique purpose, may
unknowingly cause you to feel guilty because you are not following what the majority
are doing. Are you born to be a follower or a leader?
Was
Jesus misunderstood? Yes, He had a unique mission while here
on earth and needed to obey God whether He was completely understood by people
or not. Jesus was mission-minded. To be
mission-minded you may need to get comfortable with being misunderstood, even
by your family and friends. Joyce Meyer’s had a unique calling for her
life, and she has discussed that in the beginning of her ministry she was
misunderstood by her church and her family.
Reflect
and ponder: Have you always felt a little different than
others? Do you sense you are being set-apart to fulfil God’s Kingdom purpose?
Do you sometimes feel a bit out of place?
Ways to handle being misunderstood:
1. Know
your purpose. Write out your purpose that God has given you for your life. If
you know what you were created to do, it won’t bother you as much when people don’t get you. Get mission-minded!
2. Surround
yourself with people who support and encourage your calling, not their agenda for you! If you have not realized
yet that if you allow others to dictate to you what you should be doing-they
will! Know your purpose and do not be swayed and pulled by what people want you
to accomplish for them.
3. Realize
that you are not alone. Jesus was misunderstood by the people closet to Him, yet He still fulfilled
His mission.
4. Don’t
try and explain to others in great lengths who do not fully get what you’re
about, be as brief as possible. Pray that the Holy Spirit shows them, and then
move on!
5. Stay
focused! When distractions come, temptations come, and the naysayers come-don’t
let the enemy derail you from your path.
6. Don’t
compare yourself to ANYONE else, not even the people who are serving fervently
at your church. You may be tempted to think, “Maybe I should serve like
_____________ (you fill in the blank).”
If you live in a way
where everyone understands you all the time, then you will not stand for
anything. People will have expectations
of you and want to put you in a “box”, but when you get focused on your mission
you can rise above their expectations.
MEDITATE
ON THESE SCRIPTURES:
Jesus’ family
misunderstood Him. The crowds were impressed, but Jesus’ family were not: “He is out of his mind.” (Mark 3:21)
Jesus’ friends
misunderstood Him. Jesus was explaining to His disciples God’s plan for Him,
but Peter, one of Jesus’ closest friends, took him aside and said, “Far be it from you Lord, this shall not
happen to you.” (Matthew 16:22).
Feeling
misunderstood by family, friends, and perhaps even your neighbors-take heart,
Jesus also experienced these types of misunderstandings.
You can provide
opportunities for others to understand you, but never demand that they
understand you-take the high road of humility. A true test of spiritual
maturity is how we respond when we are being misunderstood or judged unfairly. Keep
moving in the purposes that God has for you, and let God deal with those who
misunderstand and accuse you. Do not get sidetracked by those who do not
understanding your calling, and want to pull you to their purposes for you. Become confident in what God has designed
you to do and let no one derail you from your unique purpose.
No comments:
Post a Comment