Attention Critics: "Shut Your Mouth!"

It amazes me the time that critics spend in devising a plan against, scheming, criticizing, and focusing on your failure. I have learned over time that any time a critic appears it is an indicator that your next level is about to reveal itself. The very attack against you reveals that your critic believes you are capable of obtaining your goal. Otherwise they would not waste their communication, time, finances, and efforts if your dream or goal is impossible. If you critics believe in you that much, so should you.

Just as there is an assignment on your life, and God has assigned people to help you, there are people who are assigned to distract you from your destiny. I call them dream thieves. They are so insecure and clueless concerning their own dreams that they spend their entire life trying to destroy yours. I want to give you some principles to encourage you and empower you to stay the course, because as sure as your enemy shows up, it is a sure sign that you are close. If you and the enemy are walking in the same direction then you are going the wrong way, but if you are facing resistance, press on!

1) The people who most often misunderstand and misrepresent your destiny are those that are closest to you (Moses, Joseph, David, Jesus). They are blinded by familiarity to the greatness in you. Expect them to be unhappy over your progress (Ezra 4:5).

2) God most often sends you what you need in a package you least expect. Paul encourages us in 1 Corinthians 5:14-17 to no longer regard people after their flesh. Just as Jesus did we all have two natures, a God nature (anointing) and a flesh nature. When Jesus was in his hometown they saw a carpenter's boy, so they received a carpenter's boy. In Jericho, they regarded Him as the son of God, so they received the power of the son of God. How you perceive someone determines how you receive them. If all you see me as, is Craig a southern boy then that is all you will get from me. You must discern the treasure in me if you want to draw it out.

3) If your critics can discourage you from your dreams, then you are not ready. Your dream is permanent and it can't be altered by those who do not understand you. The only way they can succeed is if you believe them. If they don't like you how can it hurt you? If they love me how can it help you? Your destiny is never in the hands of a man, especially your critics.

4) Success silences your critics. The only way to shut up your critics is to succeed.

5) You qualify those who are assigned to help you in the fact that they make your baby jump! Whenever God is preparing you to give birth to something great, He will always have someone who has a dream similar to yours (Mary and Elizabeth). The bible tells us that when Mary went to see her, she was already six months pregnant. As soon as Mary stepped on Elizabeth's front porch, Elizabeth's baby was some theologians say was dead, leaped in her womb. You need to surround yourself with people that make your baby jump. They celebrate you and don't tolerate you, they are excited about your dream, their conversations with you are never focused on them (you never get a word in), they always see the solutions not the problems.

6) Only fight battles that have spoils. In other words if they attack your character, then it is a worthy fight, if they are always negative, then don't fight, leave them! When you get the wrong people out of your life, the wrong things stop happening.

7) Remember that you are a champion, not a loser. Champions spend their time building their dreams, losers spend their lives criticizing those dreams.

We'll that is all for now. It is time to spend some valuable time with my family. Tomorrow I will deal with four questions that qualify people for intimacy. On Monday I will discuss the difference between being important and being impacting. I look forward to your comments.