I don't care who you are or how old you are, all of us have dealt with rejection at some point in our lives. We have all suffered rejection socially, by friends, even by our family and loved ones.
Rejection plays a definite role in shaping our personalities and our character in ways many of us would probably not even admit. We all react and deal with rejection in different ways.These verses point out the greatest act of rejection.
God sent his Son to earth to redeem humankind, to create a way for all people to enter into a personal relationship with Himself, but they rejected him. Those who God called his people rejected his Son and executed Jesus. In the face of this rejection Jesus hung on a cross with the sin of the world on his shoulders, including the very sin of those who were rejecting him.
These verses also point to the greatest transformation in history. In Jesus God turned rejection into glory. The rejected One was raised by God to the highest place.
I find profound comfort and encouragement in this transformation of rejection into glory. Our rejection, is being transformed into glory, in Christ Jesus. It is marvelous in my eyes. Rejection is being redeemed into glory.
"As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to him you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ." 1 Peter 4-5 (NIV)
"But you are the ones chosen by God, chosen for the high calling of priestly work, chosen to be a holy people, God's instruments to do his work and speak out for him, to tell others of the night-and-day difference he made for you—from nothing to something, from rejected to accepted."
I Peter 2:9-10 (The Message)
What about you friend, what is your experience with rejection?
Will you be wiling to share your story with us and the redeeming power of God's love in your life?
6 Comments:
Oh, girl, you may be sorry you ever opened this can of worms today. Feeling particularly rejected. Should I go back to elementary school and picking teams for P.E. or when the popular/ pretty girls didn't want me in their "club"?
Or more recently, when my calling is, evidently, to be rejected? Yes, the Lord has called me to be a writer. And I learned that it takes a LOT of rejections to get published. Some writers say they "collect rejections" (even Stephen King did this). Yes, I have quite a collection -- waiting on several now. The worst are when I call to check on something and thank the editor for their time -- in effect, for rejecting me. Ugh.
Right now I'm even in a season of my house being chronically rejected. I'm trying to sell a house -- not so I can move to a bigger and better house, but just so I can move and live with my husband. He lost his job last year, got a new one in a new town, and can only come home on weekends (for which the 2 teens and I are thankful). We are trying to sell the house and with almost every showing I get an email telling how the floors aren't right, the street isn't right, the windows aren't right... even the house where I have raised my family is being rejected.
And today... after I sent husband back to work 200 miles away yesterday I was able to lay in bed a little extra today. Spring Break! Caught up on blogs from bed. And, from my bed, read that I didn't win the She Speaks scholarship I had applied for. Granted, neither did 196 other people. Rejected before I even got out of bed. Definitely Monday.
I have to wonder: am I hearing Him wrong? Am I really supposed to be writing? Am I really supposed to be moving? What am I even doing on this planet?
And that's when He cradles me, calling me to Him. To forget the mess of the world, the darts and rejections, but to be filled by His love. He told me -- nay, He PROMISED me, that in this world I would have trouble and it will get bigger than the troubles I've got goin' on now. I only need to be approved by Him and be walking by Him. I confess that it's tempting to be comforted by things of this world: out of control eating or spending, or even alcohol or a number of other addictions I could run to. But God has showed me how short-lived any of that is and how it frequently ends up making a bigger mess.
So, I'm a little weepy. Praying for a buyer, and taking comfort in Hebrews 4:15: "For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are–yet was without sin."
I loved your post and yes rejection is a Huge part of life and has been in my own life... I have had two husbands leave and reject me. There is so much to write on a subject like this... I wrote a blog post recently that tackled it when a dear friend rejected me recently.
I think the best thing to remember is that we come into this world alone and we leave alone, unless we have Christ. He never rejects us, never. He loves us in spite of ourselves.
God bless
kimberly
http://libertybellstables.wordpress.com/2011/02/14/
I was just rejected this week the scholarship contest I entered, but was okay with it because I let God have it.
Years ago I was rejected in my mind. I had an affair early into my marriage and after my husband had his vasectomy. I include that part because I got pregnant and it was obvious by who. I was devastated and I would keep this secret for awhile until I was so rejected by my husband, kids, family & friends that I drove myself to an abortion clinic. Something "I" would never do. I rejected any hope Christ tried to offer me and went through with ending my baby's life. Rejected before the truth ever came out. I regret all of that and wish I would've given my husband a chance to forgive me. I really believe now that I may have been temporarily rejected, but I believe the Jesus in my husband would've been greater than any pride or rejection he felt and I believe I would've been forgiven over rejected.
Fear filled my head of rejection. But Jesus filled my husband's heart with forgiveness.
My baby...rejected by his or her mom, received by Jesus.
Rejection has been my name for years!Along with abuse of all kinds.It is hard to see yourself of any worth after being abused,ignored,and rejected for thirty-one years.The abuse started when I was three and carried on,I knew no different.My family knew and decided it was best to go on with their everyday lives than to help me.I married and had a child at 15.I was divorced at 17 after a long custody battle.My daughter is 18 and she has rejected me too.I have been divorced twice.They always moved onto younger,better models than me.One who even calls herself Barbie and is mean to my two younger children.I got rejected by the state also when I tried to prove the meaness being done to them.They are both asthmatic and have to be on a lot of meds to even breathe.I know rejection and I know it well.I have no friends and my family thinks I am crazy.Well,maybe I am.Abuse for over thirty years does that to a person.I try so hard just to raise my children and love them and to be a good wife in my third marriage.I am worn out.I look in the mirror and even reject myself.I cannot see any good or beauty,only what has been done to me.Satan himself has come full force to destroy me and everything God would do through me.I love Jesus.He is my only true friend.I hurt and do not know if I will ever heal from all of this.My character,soul,trust level and everything about me is different from others.I cannot be in crowds.I do not like family situations their guilt of not helping me makes them extremely judgemental and snotty.I pray one day I will heal from all of the rejection and pain I carry.I see it in my mind,I dream of it,the ex and his wife hassle me still and are mean to my children to try to run me off and out of the picture.She is in her twenties and sports a tinkerbell sticker on her car.Spoiled,devious,and selfish that says.He lies and threatens and uses the children as pawns against me.Why not the system?It has failed already.I look to GOD not man to help me!!Well,that is a little of my rejection story.Sorry to sound bitter,I am just so tired and I feel used up already.I do not know how I am to carry on.So much pain and no healing.I have not had the time.I have had to care for my children and my abusers as well.Yes,they have all come to me for help.Jesus would and did so I do not have right to turn them away.It hurts but Jesus gives me the love to do it all.I am studing to be a christian counselor now.Maybe that is why all of this was and still is allowed so I may help all the others hurting too.Jesus was allowed to hurt more than anyone that has ever walked the earth,so I guessI can expect no different from this world who is quick to be for themselves.I hope you all will get something from this small testimony of my rejected life.Most of all I hope that when you all feel alone or as if things are falling apart and will never be good again you will remember that GOD has every little detail worked out for your good already.God bless you all,Lynette
Great question, Zoe. I've been rejected many times over. Rejected, abandoned, abused, taken for granted. My answer is to put rejection into practice myself by saying NO to the lies that surface from past and present hurts. I take them captive and make them obedient to Christ so that I can live free.
2 Corinthians 4:8-10 (New International Version, ©2011)
8 We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; 9 persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. 10 We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body.
My whole life I would say has been that of rejection. Starting with the rejection from my family. Incurring abuses from the age of 5 until I was thrown out of my families house at the age of 12 because my abuser was choosen over me. At which point I was put in the custody of children services only to experince repetetive acts of rejection and abuse by the very people that were supposedly there to help me. As a result it became a partern in my life in which I allowed people in my life that abused, manilpulated and used me. I also seemed to continually try to please those that rejected me in hopes to have their acceptance. This pattern went on for years until the Lord came to me at a point when I was so discourage that I was wishing for death and was doing behaviors that would make death a possiblilty, short of actually doing it. But the Lord came to me and lead me to a totally different direction. To a life filled with Him that was in 2006. And though rejection is still a part of my life I have been able to work through them with the Lord's help making it a glorification for Him, though I did not get what I thought wanted at the time. I am still working trough all theses issues and probably will be unil the day I die but I Praise the Lord that he has made me the woman I am today and pray that I can use my life as a testimony to encourage other women. Thank you for his oppurtunity to share.
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