I hate that word. Rejection. You can already sense the pain and hurt behind it without even having to relate it to a specific occurrence. I would sum up rejection as: feeling as though you are not worthy of someone’s time; experiencing not be fully accepted; being dismissed. Yeah, this isn’t a happy feel-good topic.
I am currently facing rejection. And I think what makes it hurt more than it should, is that I am facing it by people who claim to be believers. And they are believers; they do follow the Lord, yet they are still rejecting me. We all say we are a family in the Kingdom of God, and so I think I have a higher expectation of how one who follows the Lord should act towards me than as someone who doesn’t know the Lord.
I don’t understand. I don’t know why I am being rejected. I am reaching out and trying to be a friend, but it’s not being accepted on their end. It’s tough. It hurts. It makes me question who I am. It makes me ask myself….
Why Lord?
How can they not accept my love?
What makes them push me away?
Am I annoying?
Am I a bother?
I don’t want to be a burden.
All these thoughts and questions run through my mind when someone rejects me. And I used to just sit in this mindset – this mindset of “Oh, woe is me! No one will accept my love.” I used to constantly question Who I Am and wondered what was wrong with me that pushed people away. And as I gradually began to seek the Lord on this hurt and pain I was experiencing, He revealed to me that I was asking the wrong question.
Do not focus on who you are, instead, focus on Whose You Are.
Do you get that? We need to shift our focus from focusing on ourselves to focusing on HIM. When I am rejected and not accepted by someone, I don’t need to look at myself in the mirror and try to figure out what I can “fix” for someone to accept me – I need to instead seek God and allow Him to declare my identity that is founded in Him. Open up your Bible and proclaim scripture over your life. Do it. Do it right now. Here’s a few verses to get you started:
“We are the righteousness of Christ through faith, thus being made right before God.” Romans 3:22
“For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.” Psalm 103:12
“Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.” Hebrews 9:27-28
“But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His wonderful light.” 1 Peter 2:9
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I looked up rejection as relating to the Bible, and found a handful of verses that perfectly fit with what I’m trying to convey. The one that stood out to me the most is found in Isaiah 53:3
He was despised and rejected by men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
Read it again. And again. Read it until you completely understand, without a doubt, that He gets it. Jesus gets it. Your rejection, my rejection – He understands it all. He sacrificed it all in spite of rejection. He stared rejection down in the face of all His children, and He still experiences it today, yet He continues to give. He continues to love. He continues to pursue. Because that’s who He is. He is perfect and wonderful in all His ways.
Do not be dismayed. Do not be discouraged. What you are experiencing – He’s been there…and more. He’s gone through the worst of the worst. However, the past nor the present nor the future of rejection has never and WILL never stop Him from loving us unconditionally. He knew you before the world was formed, and still chose to die for you. You are worth it to Him. Let that sink in. You. Are. Worth. It.
I think rejection can hurt so badly because I think we all really want to be known. We want to be known deeply and deeply loved. And when someone doesn’t give us that, or even offer us the opportunity, it hurts. It hurts for someone’s actions and/or words to say to your heart that you’re not worth it. That you’re not worth the time. That you’re not worth the energy.
But God is offering us all the acceptance in the world and more. He loves you, and even when you reject Him, He still chooses to love you and pursue you, because you’re worth it to Him. People will let you down – people who you love and people who you don’t even know. We’re all human and it’s the reality we live in. But God won’t. He will never leave you or forsake you. You are his creation, His most prized possession. Believe that, know that and live in that truth. You Are Worth Loving.
