rejection



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Rejection.

Everyone experiences it at some point in their life.

Not getting picked for kickball. Not getting that part in the school play, or the solo in the choir concert. Not getting into your first choice for college. Not finding a spouse. Not getting that job you really wanted.

I myself have faced rejection may times, most notably in the past four years of support raising. For every person willing to stand behind me and commit to supporting my ministry financially, there are two more people telling me no.

But the rejection I'm feeling right now trumps any other rejection I've ever felt in my entire life. I won't go into any detail other than to say that someone very close to me, who I have always loved unconditionally and who I thought would always have my back has rejected me.

At first I was frustrated by this person's behavior. Then I was angry when committments were broken. Now it just hurts. I've never felt a pain like this before - not when I was dumped in 10th grade by the guy who promised he would never hurt me, not when I learned that I didn't have the support needed to teach in Austria, not even when a student spurns my attempts at helping them succeed.

And if I'm not careful, these feelings will turn to bitterness, which will eventually become hatred for this person, and for the other person who has played a key role in my rejection.

How do we respond to rejection?

First, we take comfort in knowing that Jesus was also rejected - so much so that it led to his death (and later resurrection!!). He knows exactly how we're feeling.

He was despised and rejected by mankind,
a man of suffering, and familiar with pain.
Like one from whom people hide their faces
he was despised, and we held him in low esteem.
{Isaiah 53:5}

Second, we trust that God knows our hearts, is in control, and will bring about healing in His time.

The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears them;
he delivers them from all their troubles.The Lord is close to the brokenhearted
and saves those who are crushed in spirit.
{Psalm 34:17-18}


If you think about it, please pray for me and for my attitude right now. I'm fighting feelings of anger and intense sadness at being so blatantly rejected, and I don't want to become bitter. Pray that I would be able to release this hurt to God and let Him take care of it, rather than try to fix everything with my own strength. Pray that God would give me the right words to say when or if the time ever comes, and that I would not do or say anything that I will regret later.

I leave you tonight with Paul's final words to the Thessalonians {3:16}:
Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times and in every way.
The Lord be with all of you.