HEALING FROM PAST REJECTIONS IN YOUR LIFE
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I will never leave you nor forsake you. – Joshua 1:5
Have you suffered from undue rejection? Has this created a distance between you and God, causing you to feel unacceptable to Him? Are you struggling with being able to trust?
Rejection is inevitable in life. It is part of the human experience. We are social creatures. Yet meshing different personalities and expectations does not always yield peaceful outcomes. Daily, we face minor rebuffs, snubs or dismissals in social interactions.
Our resilient natures allow us to shrug off minor rejections, whether from people, family or society. Yet a major, distressful rejection or a history of rejections over the course of our lives can take a toll on our emotional and spiritual health. It can ruin confidence and decimate trust… trust in others and trust in God.
Our Lord created us to share our lives with others. For this reason, undue or undeserved rejection can hit us deeply and personally, causing feelings of exclusion, isolation and fear. We mistakenly perceive that we are not accepted, wanted, valued, worthy.
A fear of rejection can set in where we are reticent to become close with another person. We may either turn inward, avoiding any chance of future rejection… or spend our energy attempting to please others, seeking their acceptance and approval. All is done for self-protection, to safeguard us from further hurt and suffering.
For the Lord will not reject His people; He will never forsake His inheritance. – Psalm 94:14
Rejection can cause us to feel unacceptable to God. We believe that if we have been dismissed by others, we must not be worthy of His love and acceptance. This is a misperception on our part, not a reality. God will never reject His created ones.
Our rejections may have been allowed by God for our protection, leading us away from ill-suited people or ill-timed opportunities. He may be redirecting our lives… guiding us to new people, opening up new avenues, refining our life purpose. We need to trust His wisdom and sovereign orchestration.
He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. – John 1:11
There is One who bore the ultimate rejection… Jesus our Savior. He, above all, can relate to any rejections we have endured. He was abandoned… by His people, the Jews… by the religious leaders… by His family… and by His closest followers.
He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain. – Isaiah 53:3
The most profound rejection Jesus experienced was on the cross where He bore the sins of humanity. On our behalf, He took upon Himself the judgment and wrath for this collective sin. He suffered death and separation from the Father… necessarily breaking, for a time, their eternal bond. Yet God transformed this rejection into salvation for all mankind.
He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved. – Ephesians 1:4-6
The quest for acceptance is universal. For believers, this quest is fulfilled in Christ. We are absolutely accepted in Him, the Father’s Beloved. Because we are united with Jesus, we are also beloved by the Father.
Our acceptance is not performance based. It is not founded on our inherent goodness or our life’s accomplishments. It is not diminished by our past, our sins, our failures, our rejections. It is a gift of God. We were chosen in Him before the creation of the world. We are His treasured ones, seen as holy and blameless through the lens of His Son.
The word accepted means… approved, included, welcomed. In Greek, the word is charitoo, with a richer meaning… highly favored, surrounded by divine favor. We are blessed beyond measure by a God who cherishes us.
Come to Him, the living Stone—rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to Him. – 1 Peter 2:4
In Christ, we are accepted by His unending grace, His infinite mercy and His unconditional love. We are welcomed into His kingdom family. In Him, we have a kindred spirit. His heart of empathy understands our hurts, our rejections. He is the One who can heal our past.
How to Heal from Past Rejections in Your Life
◊ Pour out your heart in prayer – Share with God your deep hurts, sufferings, emotional wounds, disappointments, fears. He will comfort you and turn your mourning into joy (Jeremiah 31:13).
◊ Believe God’s acceptance of you – Have faith in His immeasurable love, grace and mercy toward you. Look to Him for validation of your worth and value, not to the world (Proverbs 29:25).
◊ Embrace your identity in Christ – Past rejections do not define you. People’s perceptions of you do not determine your character. Remember, you are chosen and beloved in Jesus (John 15:16).
◊ Allow Jesus to heal your past – He will replace worldly lies you have mistakenly believed with His truth. He will bear your sorrow, your pain. By His wounds you are healed (Isaiah 53:5).
◊ Choose to forgive and move on – Let go of bitterness and resentment. Allow God to cleanse your heart. Consider how Jesus chose to forgive those who rejected Him (Luke 23:34).
◊ Discover Spirit-inspired confidence – Follow His leadings as you learn to trust again. Step out with new courage, letting your Counselor and Advocate safely guide you (John 14:26).
◊ Trust God with your future – He can transform your rejections into fresh directions for your life. A worldly “no” can lead you to God’s “yes”… to His new plan and purpose (Proverbs 19:21).
† Eternal Takeaway – Only through Christ can we prevail over our past and our rejections †
