27 And when they had brought them, they set them before the council. And the high priest questioned them, 28 saying, “We strictly charged you not to teach in this name, yet here you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching, and you intend to bring this man’s blood upon us.” 29 But Peter and the apostles answered, “We must obey God rather than men. (Acts 5:27-29)
The greater the purpose, the louder the voice of the critics. It is a natural human instinct to want to please those around us with our actions. However, we must make a bold line in the sands of our purpose to follow the way of God over the will of man. In this life, it takes courage to choose purpose over popularity. In Acts 5 we see Peter do just this. He faced both physical and social persecution on a level we can hardly imagine. Yet his purpose made his decision for him. His purpose dictated to him to make his decisions count for the Kingdom of God. Doing so meant criticism from the crowd and this critique ended with his eventual martyrdom. Till the end, he chose purpose over popularity and to this end God honored him with a voice that echoed through Scripture and into eternity.
Your purpose will live on long after you exit this planet, so make it count
Do not be afraid to disappoint people. The ones who fail to grasp the breath of God’s purpose mean well, but are ultimately voices of superficial criticism. Choose today who you will serve – the purpose of God or the popularity of man. Do not waver in your resolve for you have great purpose. Today, may your decisions align to His ways. Let your calling advance you past the story of today and into the history of the saints.
Lord, let us hear you clearly in our purpose. May your voice be the loudest as you grant us the courage and patience needed to sift through the noise of criticism. Today we choose to listen to you.
Matt simon blog 