Rejection stings.
I applied for a job last week. I was super excited to have found something I could see myself enjoying. Having to leave ministry because I’m no longer a “pastor’s wife” has been weighing heavily on my heart, so to be approached about a job at a Christian camp seemed like a “God wink.” I went home and immediately filled out the application and delivered my reference forms. I had a tiny glimmer of hope that my future wouldn’t be so bleak, after all. It’s been a really long time since I’ve had a job interview, but I felt fairly confident that God was answering a prayer, so I wasn’t even nervous. God’s got this, right?!
Only the camp director wasn’t as impressed with me as I’d hoped.
The night before my interview, I attended a meeting that ended up leaving me feeling a little bit beaten up. I know it wasn’t personal, but I still left feeling rejected by at least one person there.
About a week before that, a close friendship imploded. That one was my own fault, but that didn’t make it hurt any less. (Is grief making anyone else act like a nutcase at times?!)
Rejection is just loss in a different costume. And man, oh man, do the secondary losses pile up!
My point is, rejection happens. And it hurts. And it doesn’t let up on you just because you’re grieving. In fact, I believe discouragement is from the enemy and he loves to kick us while we’re down.
Why am I talking about this? Because so many of you have told me about painful secondary losses that have come in the form of rejection:
• pastors’ widows, rejected by the church they served for so many years;
• widows and widowers, rejected by their late spouse’s family;
• survivors, abandoned by friends in their time of greatest need;
• divorcees, severed from a marriage they still wanted;
• parents, hearts broken by a prodigal.
It doesn’t seem fair. But none of this does.
Rejection causes us to doubt our worth.
For 25 years, with each rejection, I had someone in my corner, assuring me that I was valued, loved, accepted, enough. Someone assuring me that everything was going to be okay. It hits different these days. The battle in the mind is fierce, and it feels like I’m in it alone. Perhaps you’re in the same boat.
But we are not alone (AND we have a weapon!)
We’ll talk about that another day. Right now, I want to focus on our worth. When we are rejected, it is easy to feel less than. Don’t fall for the lie. Open God’s Word and see what He says about you.
1. You are accepted.
You will bring God glory when you accept and welcome one another as partners, just as the Anointed One has fully accepted you and received you as his partner. Romans 15:7
2. You are loved.
Look with wonder at the depth of the Father’s marvelous love that he has lavished on us! He has called us and made us his very own beloved children 1John 3:1
3. You are chosen.
You didn’t choose me, but I’ve chosen and commissioned you to go into the world to bear fruit. John 15:16
4. You are a treasure.
But you are God’s chosen treasure—priests who are kings, a spiritual “nation” set apart as God’s devoted ones. He called you out of darkness to experience his marvelous light, and now he claims you as his very own. He did this so that you would broadcast his glorious wonders throughout the world. 1 Peter 2:9
5. You are known.
I thank you, God, for making me so mysteriously complex! Everything you do is marvelously breathtaking. It simply amazes me to think about it! How thoroughly you know me, Lord! Psalm 139:14
6. You are cared for.
I am convinced that my God will fully satisfy every need you have, for I have seen the abundant riches of glory revealed to me through the Anointed One, Jesus Christ! Philippians 4:19
7. You are wanted.
But Christ proved God’s passionate love for us by dying in our place while we were still lost and ungodly! Romans 5:8
8. You are God’s child.
Now we’re no longer living like slaves under the law, but we enjoy being God’s very own sons and daughters! And because we’re his, we can access everything our Father has—for we are heirs of God through Jesus, the Messiah! Galatians 4:7
9. You are a victor.
Yet even in the midst of all these things, we triumph over them all, for God has made us to be more than conquerors, and his demonstrated love is our glorious victory over everything! Romans 8:37
10. You are enough.
Everything we could ever need for life and complete devotion to God has already been deposited in us by his divine power. For all this was lavished upon us through the rich experience of knowing him who has called us by name and invited us to come to him through a glorious manifestation of his goodness. 2 Peter 1:3
11. God has a good plan for your life.
So we are convinced that every detail of our lives is continually woven together to fit into God’s perfect plan of bringing good into our lives, for we are his lovers who have been called to fulfill his designed purpose. Romans 8:28
So… if we are so loved, why does God allow us to get rejected? We live in a fallen world where people hurt people. Sometimes on purpose, sometimes not. But God never wastes our pain.
Our rejection may be God’s redirection. God sometimes allows rejection as a means to re-direct us to the person, place or ministry that will fulfill His purpose for our lives. Did I want that job, friendship, relationship? You bet! Can God restore them? Absolutely. Could He have something even better in store for me? Perhaps. My duty is to trust Him. His plan is always best.
Finally, rejection just may be God’s protection. Only God has the complete picture. My perspective is so limited, I’d surely make a mess of things if I were in control. Perhaps the sting of rejection wouldn’t hurt so much if I would just take my hands off the rudder and let Jesus steer the boat. After all, He was rejected. And the result of that rejection was salvation for all mankind. 
April 20,2022