Welcoming Rejection

When you hear the word "rejection" what feelings emerge? What memories come to mind? I would almost guarantee each one of us reading this have felt or experienced rejection on some level, at some point in our lives. Maybe it was on the playground when you were younger, maybe you didn’t make the cut for the team or group you wanted to be a part of, or maybe you caught feels for someone that didn’t feel the same about you. The feeling of rejection shows up early on in life and if not addressed, we can find ourselves carrying the weight in the form of hurt, abandonment or even anger.

Recently, I came face to face with rejection. Deep levels of emotions were coming out of seemingly "no where" but I have come to learn that everything is coming from somewhere, and for me these deep emotions were from many years of pushing down and not addressing my feelings in hopes that they would be forgotten. I never really addressed these feelings of "rejection" because I had been told things like, "just pick yourself up, be strong, accept it, move on and find people and places that will accept you." I started asking God for His perspective on rejection because I hadn’t really take the time to see this overarching theme throughout my life. From a young age, I learned that if someone “rejected” me as their friend then I should continue to love them while making more friends. I learned to move on and work harder so I could prove I was worthy of whatever person or position I was pursuing at the time. I learned to do this in every area of my life. I would give and give and try so hard to prove I was worthy of "acceptance" that when I was rejected I became so deeply hurt because I had done “all the right things” and it still wasn't “enough.” As I began to think about the rejection that Jesus faced his entire life, it became clear that we CAN'T hide from rejection because it is going to happen. What we CAN do, is change the filter in which we look through. If we see rejection through a negative filter, through our perspective, it produces thoughts that sound like “You're not good enough, You're just too different, No one will ever understand you, You need to conform to be like everyone else in order to be accepted” This filter drains the very life out of us. What if we were to ask Jesus for His filter, His perspective? If we look in scripture, Jesus welcomes rejection. He even warns us that we will face adversity in this life for simply existing. Not to mention when we start to walk in the design and purpose God created us for.

Isaiah 53:3 “He was despised and rejected- a man of sorrows, acquainted with deepest grief. We turned our backs on him and looked the other way. He was despised, and we did not care.”

What would life look like if we welcomed rejection as Jesus did? What if we saw rejection as an invitation, to learn and grow, allowing it to produce endurance as we pursue Jesus over the pursuit of other's acceptance. Im sure it was uncomfortable for Jesus to live in a world where people had a hard time understanding Him, where people rejected His words and actions, and called Him a false prophet. Can you imagine living everyday of your life being called names? Only a few people believe that you're truly the son of God; then- at the end of your life-you're faced with the greatest form of rejection, death. Yet, Jesus knew. This was God's plan. He knew this was all a part of His purpose on earth and so He lived a life full of rejection. Jesus welcomed rejection so that we could accept the greatest invitation of all, salvation.

No matter what you may be walking through right now, invite Jesus into your situation. Ask Him for His filter and His perspective so that you do not remain stuck looking through your own filter of emotions. Choose to welcome rejection as an beautiful invitation to grow with Father God, Jesus, and Holy Spirit. Emotions are beautiful and God given, but they were never meant to be pushed away or overtake us. Thank you Jesus for welcoming rejection so that we could be accepted!

Right now, take a moment to declare these I AM statements over your life.

I AM LOVED BY GOD.

I AM SEEN AND HEARD BY GOD.

I AM ACCEPTED BY GOD.

I AM WELCOMING REJECTION.