To be blunt, rejection hurts. It makes us question our value and whether or
not we are qualified. However, over the years I have learned that sometimes what we perceive as
rejection is actually not rejection at all.
Sometimes, what feels like rejection is actually protection.
In my life there were many occasions where I had asked God for something or
someone and when I was presented with a closed door, I would perceive it as
rejection.
Later I would discover, that had I gotten MY way, it could
have meant my destruction at worst and at the very least a broken heart.
Other times, a door may not stay closed forever, it is just
the wrong time. For example, parents
often put up baby gates to keep their little ones from harm. The baby sees something on the other side of the
gate and wants to explore, but is hindered, so they become upset not realizing the
danger down that path. Eventually, as
the child grows and learns how to walk and navigate, the baby gates come
down. They weren't placed there to hinder
the child’s growth, but rather to protect the child until they were ready to
walk the path.
When a door is closed we need to stop staring at it or
trying to kick it down and trust that the reason it is closed is to protect us
from the consequences.
Occasionally what feels like rejection is actually
correction; and it’s an expression of Love.
The Bible tells us that God corrects those He loves:
Proverbs 3:12 NKJV For whom the Lord loves
He corrects, Just as a father
the son in whom he delights.
It hurts to receive correction because generally we
attempt to do our best and want to please God and others. So when we fall short
and have to be corrected it hurts at first.
But if we take it and make the changes needed we find that in the end it
works out better than we expected:
Proverbs 13:18 NKJV Poverty and
shame will come to him who disdains correction, But he who
regards a rebuke will be honored.
A practical example is driving a car. We
constantly make minor adjustments along the way to avoid ending up in a ditch
or missing our exit. It is much better
to make the minor adjustment along the way and make it to our destination than
ending up in a wreck.
Rejection feels like isolation. When it happens, we feel like we are the only
one who has to endure it. But the Word
clearly tells us that Jesus is well acquainted with rejection.
Isaiah 53:3 NKJV He
is despised and rejected by men, A Man of sorrows and
acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our
faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem
Him.
Imagine his last week on this earth, even though he started
it with a triumphal entry into Jerusalem, he ended up in a borrowed grave after
dying a criminal’s death. The Word tells
us that it PLEASED the Father that He paid our price, why? Because the Father and Son both understood that was His whole purpose...to pay the price to redeem us all.
Isaiah 53: 10-12 NKJV Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise
Him; He has put Him to grief.
When You make His soul an offering for sin, He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days,
And the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in His hand. He shall see the labor of His soul, and be satisfied. By His knowledge My righteous Servant shall justify many, For He shall bear their iniquities.
When You make His soul an offering for sin, He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days,
And the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in His hand. He shall see the labor of His soul, and be satisfied. By His knowledge My righteous Servant shall justify many, For He shall bear their iniquities.
And finally, some of the rejection we face
is the price we have to pay to blaze the trail for others, so that ALL may
benefit. I have gladly faced the
rejection of this world in order to stand for Righteousness and draw others
into the Kingdom.
How about you?