Coping with Rejection

Philosophy View of Rejection

Rejection can be defined as the act of pushing someone or something away. One may experience rejection from one's family of origin, a friend or a romantic partner and the resulting emotions can often be painful.

Rejection is “an act of throwing away or discarding someone or something,” which implies a lack of value in the person or thing thrown away.

Biblical View of Rejection

The righteous cry, and the LORD heareth, and delivereth them out of all their troubles.

The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit.

Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the LORD delivereth him out of them all.

He keepeth all his bones, not one of them is broken.

Psalm 34 17-20 KJV

Have you ever been in a situation that makes you feel like you are being rejected? I am here to encouraged you that you don’t have to feel this way, rejection is one of Satan's most effective forms of oppression in today’s society. Rejection can stop a sinner from coming to God for salvation and even us as Christian’s rejection can keep us away from reaching our full potential in God. Rejection can severely affect an individual's worth, value and leads to low self-esteem, it undermines, breaks, and prevents normal and harmonious relations between family members, marriage partners, fellow workers and friends.

Rejection can be experienced on a large scale or in small ways in our everyday lives. Some types of rejection may be more difficult to cope with than others. It also misstates (give a misleading or false account or impression) our image of God as a loving heavenly Father who loves us and who wants only the best for us. If we as children of the high God are not rooted and grounded in fasting and prayer rejection can rob Jesus Christ of His rightful position as Lord in the lives of His children and keeps believers from experiencing the vitality and quality of life He alone can give.

Rejection results in wounding of the heart, sometimes so painful that the mind refuses to deal with it, so we bury it in our hearts later, it surfaces in other ways to cause us problems.

Physically when we go to the hospital or a GP appointment, we are diagnosed with different illnesses that can be treated with different medications, but the greatest un-diagnosed and most untreated infirmity within in the body of Christ today is rejection, whether it maybe ACTIVE or PASSIVE, REAL or IMAGINARY. Majority of people running to the alter for prayer is suffering from feelings of rejection.

Are you feeling rejected? The good news is you are not alone in your rejection, God is always with you, many people in the Bible experienced rejection, even God himself. The Old Testament prophets were often rejected and disrespected. They ended up in lions’ dens, pits, and were martyred. Moses experienced repeated rejection before Pharaoh. If you are feeling rejected by your family just remember Joseph, he was rejected by his family and his brothers sold him into slavery, this exciting story can be found in the book of Genesis 37, beautiful illustration of how God’s purpose can be found in our pain. Jesus chose seventy-two disciples and send them ahead of him to prepare the way for his ministry.

After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them two by two ahead of him to every town and place where he was about to go.

Luke 10:1 NIV

He warned them that many of the cities they would visit would not put out the welcome mat for them. So, Jesus explained that these disciples would be acting as his representative. Anyone who accepts your message is also accepting me. And anyone who rejects you is also rejecting me. And anyone who rejects me is rejecting God who sent me.

“Whoever listens to you listens to me; whoever rejects you rejects me; but whoever rejects me rejects him who sent me.”

Luke 10:16 NIV

We can see another similar story of rejection which occurred in the Old Testament in 1st Samuel 8:6-7 where Samuel had been serving the Israelites as a Judge and Prophet, but there came a time when the Israelites pleaded with Samuel to give then a King like all the other nation in the book of 1st Samuel 8:6-7 we can see that Samuel was not please with the Israelites request, so he went to the Lord for advise, the Lord answered Samuel and told him to do exactly what the people ask for, it is me God they are rejecting not you Samuel. The Lord counted Israel’s rejection of Samuel as a rejection of himself.

But when they said, “Give us a king to lead us,” this displeased Samuel; so, he prayed to the LORD.

And the LORD told him: “Listen to all that the people are saying to you; it is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected me as their king.

1st Samuel 8:6-7 NIV

In the book of 1st Thessalonians 4:1; 8 Many years later, Paul was writing to the church at Thessalonica about pleasing God in their daily living. He told them anyone who refuses to live by these rules is not disobeying human rules but is rejecting God who gives his Holy Spirit to them.

As for other matters, brothers, and sisters, we instructed you how-to live-in order to please God, as in fact you are living. Now we ask you and urge you in the Lord Jesus to do this more and more.

1st Thessalonians 4:1 NIV

Therefore, anyone who rejects this instruction does not reject a human being but God, the very God who gives you his Holy Spirit.

1st Thessalonians 4:8 NIV

Like Samuel and Jesus’s disciples, if we find that our leadership or message is being rejected, we can find comfort in realising that Jesus understands how we feel. But then what should we do?

Here are few things we can do:

First, we must be determined to live what we teach, remembering that we are responsible only for our own reaction and response, not other people’s. As long as our conscience is clear before God and as best we can determine we are teaching the truth as it is in Jesus, then we must commit to him people’s reactions .

Second, we must constantly in be in prayer and fasting about this. According to S. D. Gordon we must talk more to God about men, than to men about God. If our ministry of teaching is both birthed and bathed in player, we will be able to cope with the adverse reactions to our words.

Third, we must not take rejection personally. Realize you are sharing it with God, he tells us to expect it and not to let it cause us to falter. He will help us press on.

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