Article By Empowering Everyday Women Ministries // Spiritual

From now until the world ends, people will always have an opinion about what you do, and they will sometimes negatively critique your actions.

Even so, as long as you know you are being led by God’s word and are in compliance with His will, you can ignore detractors, remain confident, and be free to live your life.  

To help you avoid allowing others’ ideas, attitudes, and criticisms to change your divinely-ordained course, here are 5 Scriptures to remind you that you are not called to be pleasing to man, but rather, you are called to be pleasing to the Lord.

“Peter and the other apostles replied: ‘We must obey God rather than human beings!’” (Acts 5:29 NIV) 

In the early church, Peter and the apostles were jailed for preaching the gospel and performing miracles in the name of Jesus. When they were brought before the council of religious leaders and scolded, they refused to budge, because they were called to be obedient to God—not man. Be like the apostles in the early church. Don’t let anyone stop you from saying, doing, or being what God has called you to.

“Obviously, I’m not trying to win the approval of people, but of God. If pleasing people were my goal, I would not be Christ’s servant.” (Galatians 1:10 NLT)

The apostle Paul reminded the church at Galatia not to be swayed or confused by those preaching a false gospel. Despite the criticism, rejection, and persecution Paul dealt with at the time, he stood firmly in faith and encouraged the church to do the same. Whether you are under fire for your faith or something else, when you know the truth, stand on it, and don’t be moved. Your one aim is solely to please God.

“For we speak as messengers approved by God to be entrusted with the Good News. Our purpose is to please God, not people. He alone examines the motives of our hearts.” (1 Thessalonians 2:4 NLT)

Paul told the church at Thessalonica that he and all those that labored with him had pure motives, and they would not stop doing the work of the ministry, despite strong opposition. Their focus was on fulfilling the will of the One who sent them and nothing else. That must be your focus also, despite how loud your critics may get. If God is pleased, that’s all that matters.

Daniel 1:8, “But Daniel resolved not to defile himself with the royal food and wine, and he asked the chief official for permission not to defile himself this way.”

While in Babylonian captivity, Daniel, a servant of the Lord, was being groomed to serve in King Nebuchadnezzar’s palace. That meant he was expected to follow a certain regimen, including eating things that, under the law, were impure. So Daniel defied the king as not to defile himself.  When you have a divine conviction, don’t waver. Just as God favored Daniel for being obedient, the Lord will favor you in response to your obedience to Him, and He will bless you.

Daniel 3:16-28

This is the familiar story of three Hebrew boys—Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego—who refused to obey King Nebuchadnezzar’s order to bow to a golden image he erected. Consequently, they were thrown in a fiery furnace. Though God ultimately delivered them unscathed, they didn’t know He was going to do that and were prepared to die for their convictions. If these men could stay committed to the Lord in the midst of a real life-threatening situation, can’t we rise above negative criticism and stay on our divine path?

Ideally, we wouldn’t ever receive backlash for our decisions, but the reality is, we will. When this inevitably happens, call to mind these 5 Scriptures, and follow the examples of these great biblical leaders.