Latest / INSIGHT FOR LIVING: Biblical Wisdom For Everyday Living / How to Handle Criticism with Class, Part 3 - Pastor Chuck Swindoll Insight for Living

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How to Handle Criticism with Class, Part 3 - Pastor Chuck Swindoll Insight for Living · INSIGHT FOR LIVING: Biblical Wisdom For Everyday Living

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  Speaker 1: When he has tried me, I will come forth as gold.
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  Speaker 1: When I pass this test, there's going to be rewards.
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  Speaker 1: Focus on the future benefits, not the present pain. You
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  Speaker 1: may be in the middle of a turmoil. Trust the Lord.
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  Speaker 1: It's not an eternal turmoil.
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  Speaker 2: Have you ever searched for God in the darkness and
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  Speaker 2: come up empty? You couldn't feel him, couldn't hear him,
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  Speaker 2: couldn't understand what he was doing, and yet somehow you
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  Speaker 2: held on. Today on Insight for Living, Chuck Swindoll draws
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  Speaker 2: our attention to three verses in the book of Job,
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  Speaker 2: verses so powerful he committed them to memory in his
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  Speaker 2: 20s and has leaned on them ever since. They speak
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  Speaker 2: to anyone walking through a trial they can't explain. It's
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  Speaker 2: the heart of Grace Under Pressure. Chuck titled his message,
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  Speaker 2: How to Handle Criticism with Class.
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  Speaker 1: Some of the greatest verses in all the Bible are
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  Speaker 1: verses 10, 11, and 12 of Job 23. I committed
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  Speaker 1: them to memory back when I was in my young 20s,
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  Speaker 1: and I have called them to mind perhaps more than
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  Speaker 1: any other passage of Scripture. I commend to you the
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  Speaker 1: memorizing of Job 23, 10 through 12. I'm serious. I've
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  Speaker 1: got them marked out in my Bible. I got a
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  Speaker 1: ruler and I marked around 23, 10 through 12. He
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  Speaker 1: knows the way that I take. Look at the verse.
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  Speaker 1: When he, that's God, has tried me, I shall come
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  Speaker 1: forth as gold. My foot has held his steps. His
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  Speaker 1: way have I kept and not declined. Neither have I
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  Speaker 1: turned back from the command of his lips. I have,
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  Speaker 1: I love this word, I have esteemed, I have treasured,
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  Speaker 1: I have prized the words of his mouth more than
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  Speaker 1: my necessary food. I am unable to locate the presence
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  Speaker 1: of God, but I trust him. Eliphaz, Bildad, Zophar and
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  Speaker 1: later Elihu, you can say whatever you wish against me.
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  Speaker 1: God knows the way that I take. He knows the truth. He,
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  Speaker 1: my justifier, he and I are on speaking terms. I
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  Speaker 1: trust him. I believe in him. He knows the way
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  Speaker 1: I take. After the trial is over, I will come
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  Speaker 1: forth as gold. You can count on that, saints. When
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  Speaker 1: the trial has passed, you will be deeper and richer
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  Speaker 1: for it. I want you to allow those words to
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  Speaker 1: burn their way into your brain so deeply that they
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  Speaker 1: become like a divine filter for everything that happens in
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  Speaker 1: your life from now on. Everything. God knows the way
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  Speaker 1: that we take. Your need Verse 11, and mine is
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  Speaker 1: to have our feet hold fast to his path, to
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  Speaker 1: keep his way and not turn aside, not depart from
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  Speaker 1: the command of his lips. You say, well, I thought
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  Speaker 1: we couldn't see him. What do you mean his lips?
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  Speaker 1: His word. It's as if God is speaking. When you
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  Speaker 1: open his book, his word teaches you, instructs you, counsels you,
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  Speaker 1: comforts you, reproves you, directs your steps. I have not
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  Speaker 1: departed from the command of his lips and look at
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  Speaker 1: the last line. I have treasured. The word means to esteem,
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  Speaker 1: to value the words of his mouth more than steak
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  Speaker 1: and potatoes, more than solid and dessert, more than the
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  Speaker 1: most delicious and delectable meal. The finest chef in the
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  Speaker 1: country can provide. I have treasured the words of his
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  Speaker 1: mouth more than what I have for lunch or Or
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  Speaker 1: what I'm served. Or what I serve myself for supper.
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  Speaker 1: I treasure his words more than anything that even keeps
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  Speaker 1: me alive. That's the value I place on what he
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  Speaker 1: has said. Grace under pressure. That's why he could keep
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  Speaker 1: from answering Eliphaz. Or slugging him. That's how Job could
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  Speaker 1: restrain himself when he's being falsely accused. He knows that
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  Speaker 1: God knows the way he takes. God knows his heart.
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  Speaker 1: And he trusts God. Now the second... Job makes, which
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  Speaker 1: is the balance of this chapter, 13 through 17. I'm
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  Speaker 1: unable to understand the plan of God. Now get that
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  Speaker 1: along with the first one and you'll have a nice balance.
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  Speaker 1: I'm unable to locate the presence of God, but I
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  Speaker 1: trust him. Now the second is, I am unable to
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  Speaker 1: understand the plan of God, but I trust him. Same ending,
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  Speaker 1: but it's another subject. His plan is unfolding. And I'm
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  Speaker 1: not able to understand it. In fact, he says he's
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  Speaker 1: unique in verse 13. God is unique. Who can turn him?
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  Speaker 1: What his soul desires that he does. He doesn't ask permission.
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  Speaker 1: He doesn't tell you ahead of time. He doesn't explain
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  Speaker 1: why it's so hard. He doesn't let you know how
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  Speaker 1: it's going to come out. He doesn't tell you why
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  Speaker 1: it goes on and on and on and on and on.
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  Speaker 1: And most of it is unfair. He doesn't tell you
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  Speaker 1: how long it's going to last. He doesn't tell you
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  Speaker 1: when it's going to end. You trust him. You trust him.
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  Speaker 1: You wait. You serve him. You keep your feet on
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  Speaker 1: his paths. You treasure his words. And whatever God desires,
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  Speaker 1: that is what he does. And you trust him. You
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  Speaker 1: can't understand it. And don't call me. Because I can't
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  Speaker 1: explain it either. I got my own stuff. You call me,
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  Speaker 1: I'll probably say, while you're on the line, I've got
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  Speaker 1: several things I want to ask you. And to make
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  Speaker 1: matters even more complicated, verse 14, he performs what is
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  Speaker 1: appointed for me. There's a uniqueness there. Nobody else was Job.
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  Speaker 1: And Job had what was appointed for Job. And that
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  Speaker 1: became his life and lifestyle. Just as he is performing
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  Speaker 1: what is appointed for you. And don't get your hopes up.
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  Speaker 1: Many such decrees are with him. You've got a whole
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  Speaker 1: bunch of them waiting to implement once you get through
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  Speaker 1: this one. Isn't that fun? Therefore, I would be dismayed
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  Speaker 1: at his presence when I consider I am terrified of him.
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  Speaker 1: That's great, great vulnerability. Just say it. It's okay. I
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  Speaker 1: think the Lord would love to hear us say that
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  Speaker 1: on occasion. You frighten me. St. John of the Cross,
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  Speaker 1: one of the fathers, wrote this. God perceives the imperfections
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  Speaker 1: within us. Now listen closely. This is deep. God perceives
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  Speaker 1: the imperfections within us and because of his love for us,
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  Speaker 1: urges us to grow up. His love is not content
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  Speaker 1: to leave us in our weaknesses. And for this reason,
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  Speaker 1: he takes us into a dark night. He weans us
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  Speaker 1: from all the pleasures by giving us dry times and
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  Speaker 1: and inward darkness. In doing so, he is able to
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  Speaker 1: take away all these vices and create virtues within us.
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  Speaker 1: Through the dark night, pride becomes humility. Greed becomes simplicity.
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  Speaker 1: Wrath becomes contentment. Luxury becomes peace. Gluttony becomes moderation. Envy
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  Speaker 1: becomes joy. And sloth becomes strength. No soul will ever
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  Speaker 1: grow deep in the spiritual life unless God works passively
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  Speaker 1: in that soul by means of the dark night. That's
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  Speaker 1: why we trust him. I can't see in the darkness.
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  Speaker 1: And the longer it goes on, the darker it seems
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  Speaker 1: it gets. And so I trust him. And I wait
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  Speaker 1: for him. I don't try to explain what he's up to.
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  Speaker 1: I trust him. You want this to go on longer?
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  Speaker 1: I trust you. I'm going to act wisely. I'm going
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  Speaker 1: to respond as best I can. But Lord God, to
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  Speaker 1: change this setting is your business, not mine. And my
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  Speaker 1: walk with you is such That I lean on you
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  Speaker 1: when I can't see my way through. For however long.
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  Speaker 1: Now his final response is in chapter 24. He was
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  Speaker 1: unable to locate the presence of God. So he said,
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  Speaker 1: I trust him. He was unable to explain the plan
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  Speaker 1: of God. So he says, I trust him. By the way,
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  Speaker 1: Pascal once wrote, the eternal silence of those infinite spaces
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  Speaker 1: frightens me. I love that. The eternal silence of those
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  Speaker 1: infinite spaces frightens me. There's some time in the depth
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  Speaker 1: of his will you are absolutely scared to death. You
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  Speaker 1: don't have any idea where this is going to lead.
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  Speaker 1: It's okay. You trust him. You wait for him. Chapter 24,
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  Speaker 1: I am unable to justify the permissions of God. But
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  Speaker 1: I trust him. I'm unable to justify the permissions of God.
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  Speaker 1: What do I mean by that? Well, what does Job mean?
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  Speaker 1: He starts in the country, verses 1 to 11. He
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  Speaker 1: goes to the city, verses 12 to 17. And then
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  Speaker 1: he just levels curses against the wicked at the end.
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  Speaker 1: 18 down through 24. In the country... Look at this.
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  Speaker 1: Some remove, verse 2, some remove the landmarks and they
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  Speaker 1: seize and devour flocks. God doesn't step in and stop it.
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  Speaker 1: They drive away the donkeys of the orphans. They take
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  Speaker 1: the widow's ox for a pledge. God doesn't stop. He
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  Speaker 1: permits that. They push the needy aside from the road.
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  Speaker 1: The poor from the land are made to hide themselves altogether.
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  Speaker 1: This is great poetry and it's true fact. As wild
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  Speaker 1: donkeys in the wilderness. They go forth seeking food in
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  Speaker 1: their activity as bread for their children in the desert.
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  Speaker 1: They harvest their fodder in the field, the gleam and
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  Speaker 1: glean the vineyard of the wicked. They spend the night
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  Speaker 1: naked without clothing, have no covering against the cold. God
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  Speaker 1: doesn't stop it. They are wet with a mountain of
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  Speaker 1: rains and hug the rock for want of a shelter
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  Speaker 1: and God doesn't step in and stop it. He permits it.
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  Speaker 1: Others snatch the orphan from the breast. God doesn't stop it.
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  Speaker 1: There are kidnappings and God doesn't stop it. And against
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  Speaker 1: the poor, they take a pledge and God doesn't stop it.
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  Speaker 1: He permits it. And on and on and on it
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  Speaker 1: goes down through verse 11. I can't justify God's passivity.
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  Speaker 1: Why does he permit that? But he does. When you
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  Speaker 1: get to chapter 24, verse 12, you're in the city
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  Speaker 1: and you think the country problems were tough. Look at
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  Speaker 1: the litany of the city problems. Verse 13, others have
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  Speaker 1: been with those who rebel against the light. They do
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  Speaker 1: not want to know its ways nor abide in its paths,
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  Speaker 1: and God lets it happen. The murderer arises at dawn.
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  Speaker 1: God lets him go. He kills the poor and the needy,
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  Speaker 1: and at night he is as a thief, and God
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  Speaker 1: doesn't stop it. The eye of the adulterer waits for
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  Speaker 1: the twilight, saying, no eye will see me. He disguises
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  Speaker 1: his face, and God doesn't zap him. You could go
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  Speaker 1: all the way down through this list. All the way
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  Speaker 1: to the end. And there are wrongs. And there are failures.
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  Speaker 1: And there are injustices. And there's robbery and sexual sins.
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  Speaker 1: And where is God? He is permitting it. Why? I
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  Speaker 1: don't know. Says Job. I think his point here is
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  Speaker 1: that just exactly like what's happened to me. God's permitted it.
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  Speaker 1: Just like what I'm going through. God has permitted those
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  Speaker 1: who do wrong get away with it those who take
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  Speaker 1: advantage of others get away with it and God doesn't
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  Speaker 1: step in and you and I could name a half
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  Speaker 1: dozen examples right now of recent cases where the Lord
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  Speaker 1: could have stopped it but he didn't this isn't all
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  Speaker 1: about the Jewish Holocaust this isn't all about the wrongs
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  Speaker 1: of the crusade era this isn't all about the priests
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  Speaker 1: in the Catholic Church who abused boys This is about
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  Speaker 1: all kinds of things that we could name and God
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  Speaker 1: could have stopped it, but he didn't. It's a mystery.
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  Speaker 1: That's the point. I can't justify the permissions of God.
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  Speaker 1: But I trust him. That's a major step, especially if
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  Speaker 1: one of the boys is your son. Or if one
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  Speaker 1: of the children kidnapped is your child. It's a real
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  Speaker 1: test on trust. And so do Job finishes this, 18
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  Speaker 1: through 24, by leveling curses against the wicked. Job is saying,
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  Speaker 1: in effect, you think I'm wicked? I'm telling you, God,
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  Speaker 1: if I had my way with God, he would curse
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  Speaker 1: every one of them doing wrong. I stand against everything
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  Speaker 1: that I've named here. And verse 25 is pretty assuring,
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  Speaker 1: isn't it? Now, if it's not so, who can prove
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  Speaker 1: me a liar and make my speech worthless? Can any
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  Speaker 1: stand up and say, this is nonsense? No one could.
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  Speaker 1: Not even Eliphaz. The amazing thing is God's tolerance. Not
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  Speaker 1: only is he absent, not only is he mysterious, I
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  Speaker 1: can't justify what he's doing. I mean, would you have
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  Speaker 1: done with Job what God did with him? If you had,
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  Speaker 1: we would call you cruel. But when God does it,
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  Speaker 1: he turns it into a 42-chapter book and uses it
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  Speaker 1: in all our lives. Okay, what's this about? Three lessons,
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  Speaker 1: if I may be that simplistic. I think there are
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  Speaker 1: three enduring lessons. Even though God is elusive and mysterious
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  Speaker 1: and strange and silent and invisible and appears to be passive,
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  Speaker 1: he is trustworthy. So the first point I want to
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  Speaker 1: make is resist the temptation to explain everything. Resist the
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  Speaker 1: temptation to explain everything. Everything. God knows. Add that. Resist
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  Speaker 1: the temptation to explain everything. God knows, but you and
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  Speaker 1: I don't. It was a great day at Dallas Seminary
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  Speaker 1: when I heard one of the profs say, as he
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  Speaker 1: was asked a question similar to this subject, I don't know.
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  Speaker 1: And I thought, yes. Yes. Honest man, brilliant theologian. I
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  Speaker 1: don't know. I don't know. I can't explain it. Seminary
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  Speaker 1: is not a school where you learn all of the
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  Speaker 1: answers about the mysterious workings of God. It may be
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  Speaker 1: the place where you finally learn to admit there are
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  Speaker 1: a lot of things about him I don't know. Someone
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  Speaker 1: has said an education is just going from an unawareness
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  Speaker 1: to an awareness of your ignorance. You discover all the
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  Speaker 1: things you don't know Resist the temptation to explain everything.
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  Speaker 1: Don't try. Just practice. Say it with me. I don't know.
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  Speaker 1: First time some of you have said that in years.
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  Speaker 1: Let's do it again. I don't know. Terrific. You did
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  Speaker 1: it very well. Tomorrow morning at the mirror, guys, as
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  Speaker 1: you're shaving, say it. I don't know. I don't know
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  Speaker 1: why I got a face like this. I don't know why.
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  Speaker 1: Days like this. I don't know. Second, focus on the
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  Speaker 1: future benefits, not the present pain. When he has tried me,
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  Speaker 1: I will come forth as gold. When I pass this test,
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  Speaker 1: there's going to be rewards. Focus on the future benefits,
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  Speaker 1: not the present pain. God leads. Add that. He knows
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  Speaker 1: what he's about. That's what Job 23.10 says. He knows
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  Speaker 1: the way I take. Here's the third. It's the toughest
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  Speaker 1: one for many of you, I know, but it's got
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  Speaker 1: to be added. Embrace the sovereignty of God. God controls.
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  Speaker 1: Embrace the sovereignty of God. Some of you want to
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  Speaker 1: say in return, look, it's hard for me to embrace
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  Speaker 1: anyone I don't really understand. You hug your wife, don't you?
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  Speaker 1: You hug your husband, don't you? You hug your daddy,
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  Speaker 1: your mama. You don't understand all about them. Sometimes you
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  Speaker 1: have just said, I don't understand, but come here. You
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  Speaker 1: just put your arms around them. Never believe that life
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  Speaker 1: is based on random chance. Don't ever believe that. It's
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  Speaker 1: all working together like a massive, beautiful piece of divine
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  Speaker 1: tapestry that from this side looks blurred and knotted and
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  Speaker 1: strange and twisted, but from that side has an incredible
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  Speaker 1: pattern to it. And to God, it's for his glory.
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  Speaker 1: It makes great sense. But we're on this side. My
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  Speaker 1: good friend David Roper, in his fine book, Seeing Through,
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  Speaker 1: provides an illustration of this. Recently, Carolyn and I were
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  Speaker 1: on the first leg of a flight from Frankfurt, Germany,
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  Speaker 1: to our home in Boise, Idaho. Our first stop was Boston.
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  Speaker 1: It had been an exhausting week, and I dropped off
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  Speaker 1: to sleep as soon as I found my seat, but
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  Speaker 1: I was soon awakened by the disturbance in the aisles.
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  Speaker 1: The steward and a passenger who had been seated on
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  Speaker 1: Carolyn's left were arguing about the man's seat assignment. Somehow
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  Speaker 1: he had been separated from his fiancée who was seated
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  Speaker 1: several rows behind us. The man grew increasingly angry and
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  Speaker 1: argumentative until another passenger, seated by the man's fiancée, offered
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  Speaker 1: to trade places. The swap was made, and Carolyn's new
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  Speaker 1: seatmate settled into his place, drew out a legal pad,
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  Speaker 1: and began to work on some project. Unfortunately, there was
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  Speaker 1: a garrulous little French boy seated on his left, a
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  Speaker 1: charming child who wanted to talk. the man who seemed
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  Speaker 1: to be the soul of patience gave up his project
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  Speaker 1: after a few minutes and began to chat amiably with
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  Speaker 1: the boy. Carolyn was soon drawn into the conversation. I
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  Speaker 1: heard the man say he was from Los Gatos, California,
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  Speaker 1: where Carolyn and I had lived for 18 years. He
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  Speaker 1: was on the Frankfurt to Boston leg of the flight
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  Speaker 1: to San Francisco. I heard Carolyn remark on the fact
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  Speaker 1: that we had many friends in the Bay Area who
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  Speaker 1: And then I went back to sleep. When I awakened
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  Speaker 1: an hour or so later, I found Carolyn sharing her
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  Speaker 1: faith with her newfound friend, scribbling on his pad of paper,
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  Speaker 1: drawing diagrams and animating her story. He was listening intently
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  Speaker 1: and asking questions. I sat there quietly and I prayed
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  Speaker 1: for her and for the man. At one point he said,
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  Speaker 1: you believe as my wife does. Oh, Carolyn replied. And
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  Speaker 1: how did she become a follower of Christ? Through Bible
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  Speaker 1: study fellowship, he responded. Oh, how did she find out
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  Speaker 1: about Bible study fellowship? Carolyn asked. A friend of hers,
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  Speaker 1: Nell King, invited her to attend. That's remarkable, Carolyn exclaimed.
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  Speaker 1: Nell King is one of my best friends. And then
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  Speaker 1: the coin dropped. A few months before we moved to Boise,
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  Speaker 1: Nell had asked Carolyn to pray for a friend who
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  Speaker 1: had just become a Christian through Bible study fellowship and
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  Speaker 1: for her husband, who was not yet a believer. The
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  Speaker 1: man now seated on Carolyn's left, there by that power
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  Speaker 1: which erring men call chance. There is a perfect plan unfolding.
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  Speaker 1: You can't explain it. You can't understand it. And there
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  Speaker 1: will be times you won't like it. He's not going
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  Speaker 1: to ask you permission to keep it moving. Trust him.
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  Speaker 1: Grace under pressure. Bow your heads with me, will you please?
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  Speaker 1: You're surrounded by individuals in the family of God who
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  Speaker 1: could tell you a hundred stories similar to the one
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  Speaker 1: I just told you. But they probably won't because you
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  Speaker 1: would never know to ask. But the fact is you
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  Speaker 1: have your own stories. Just look over the way things
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  Speaker 1: have worked out. You may be in the middle of
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  Speaker 1: a turmoil. Trust the Lord. It's not an eternal turmoil.
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  Speaker 1: It's just part of the unfolding of a profound plan
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  Speaker 1: It may very well be the plan is designed to
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  Speaker 1: humble you, to bring you so far down that the
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  Speaker 1: only way you can look is up, and you'll see
• 23:09
  Speaker 1: a cross. And you'll reach out by faith, and you
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  Speaker 1: will take the hand of the one who died for you,
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  Speaker 1: and it's got skin on it. He was a man
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  Speaker 1: like we are, but he was without sin. He paid
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  Speaker 1: the full price for your salvation and he awaits your
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  Speaker 1: accepting it. The plan will never be exciting to you
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  Speaker 1: until you accept the Lord Jesus into your life. Don't
• 23:45
  Speaker 1: wait to do that. Today's the day. Father, we are
• 23:50
  Speaker 1: very grateful for the way your work unfolds and much
• 23:54
  Speaker 1: to our amazement and some time Admittedly, our resistance and disappointment.
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  Speaker 1: The plan brings hurt. It brings pain. It requires grace
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  Speaker 1: under pressure. Give us the patience to endure. Give us
• 24:12
  Speaker 1: the faith to believe. Give us the hope to trust.
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  Speaker 1: I pray in the name of Jesus and for his sake.
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  Speaker 1: Everyone said. Amen.
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  Speaker 2: He knows the way I take, and when he has
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  Speaker 2: tried me, I shall come forth as gold. What a
• 24:37
  Speaker 2: promise to hold on to when the trial drags on
• 24:40
  Speaker 2: and the darkness won't lift. This is Insight for Living.
• 24:44
  Speaker 2: Chuck Swindoll titled his message, How to Handle Criticism with Class.
• 24:49
  Speaker 2: If you're feeling overwhelmed by unsolicited opinions or the unwanted
• 24:53
  Speaker 2: counsel from friends or We hope this study has brought
• 24:56
  Speaker 2: renewed confidence that God not only knows, He understands. You see,
• 25:00
  Speaker 2: Job is a model for exercising grace under pressure.
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  Speaker 1: Picture it.
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  Speaker 2: His friends came to comfort him and crushed him instead.
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  Speaker 2: God seemed silent. And yet, from the ash heap came
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  Speaker 2: these words, I know that my Redeemer lives. That's a
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  Speaker 2: man who found God when his world was on fire.
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  Speaker 2: And friend, you may be sitting there today in your
• 25:23
  Speaker 2: own ash heap. Words have wounded you, circumstances have overwhelmed you,
• 25:27
  Speaker 2: and God feels very, very far away. Chuck's book, Finding
• 25:32
  Speaker 2: God When the World's on Fire, was written exactly for
• 25:35
  Speaker 2: that moment. We'd love to send you a copy today.
• 25:38
  Speaker 2: It's yours when your request includes a contribution toward the
• 25:41
  Speaker 2: ministry of Insight for Living. We're grateful for you, and
• 25:44
  Speaker 2: we believe this book will be a gift to your soul. Again,
• 25:48
  Speaker 2: it's called Finding God When the World's on Fire. Call
• 25:52
  Speaker 2: us at 800-772-8888 or go to insight.org slash donate. Thanks
• 26:00
  Speaker 2: so much for your voluntary gift. No matter the size,
• 26:03
  Speaker 2: it'll be used to provide hope to those who feel hopeless. Plus,
• 26:07
  Speaker 2: your generosity allows us to provide Chuck's teaching on your
• 26:10
  Speaker 2: station and on the Insight mobile app and all the
• 26:13
  Speaker 2: other platforms where Insight for Living is freely heard. To
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  Speaker 2: send a contribution in the mail, address your envelope to
• 26:20
  Speaker 2: Insight for Living, Post Office Box 5000, Frisco, Texas 75034.
• 26:24
  Speaker 2: Or call 800-772-8888. Online, just go to insight.org slash donate.
• 26:27
  Speaker 2: I'm Bill Meyer. Tomorrow, Chuck Swindoll presents what he calls...
• 26:48
  Speaker 2: The Futility of Unscrewing the Unscrutable, right here on Insight
• 26:53
  Speaker 2: for Living. The preceding message, How to Handle Criticism with Class,
• 27:00
  Speaker 2: was copyrighted in 2002, 2004, and 2025, and the sound
• 27:05
  Speaker 2: recording was copyrighted in 2025 by Charles R. Swindoll, Inc.
• 27:10
  Speaker 2: All rights are reserved worldwide. Duplication of copyrighted material for
• 27:15
  Speaker 2: commercial use is strictly prohibited.