OVERCOMING THE SPIRIT OF REJECTION (Part III)

OVERCOMING THE SPIRIT OF REJECTION (Part III)

This is the final installment of our devotional series on the spirit of rejection, so let’s recap what we have learned.  First, God graciously sows ‘pluses’ into our lives to offset the ‘minuses’ we experience through the carelessness or callousness of others.  It is mission-critical that we identify and cultivate those positive seeds.  Secondly, Satan leverages our feelings of inadequacy to negatively impact attitudes, actions and long-term potential.  Thirdly, whenever we harbor unresolved feelings of rejection, we trigger a tendency to become a rejecter of others, thereby diminishing our capacity to sustain healthy relationships.  Fourthly, to combat any feelings of inadequacy (rooted in rejection), we must avoid toxic people and relationships. Fifthly, we must diligently guard our hearts, that is, we must deploy God’s Word as a spiritual filter for our meditations and our mouths.

These insights lead us to Kingdom Principle Number Three: REJECTION IS AN OPPORTUNITY TO GAIN KNOWLEDGE, MOTIVATION AND THE ABILITY TO ACHIEVE SUCCESS.  To understand the power of this statement, we need only consider the life of JESUS CHRIST.  Indeed, He is THE MASTER of managing personal rejection.   Consider the following scripture:

John 1:10-12
10 He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and THE WORLD KNEW HIM NOT.
11 He came unto his own, and HIS OWN RECEIVED HIM NOT.
12 BUT AS MANY AS RECEIVED HIM, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:

First, as the Architect of Creation, Jesus Christ was rejected by the very people whom he had created. (John 1:3 and Hebrews 11:3) Secondly, Jesus was rejected by “his own,” i.e. his Jewish brethren. (John 1:11) Thirdly, Jesus was marginalized by the religious establishment who sought to label him as “a gluttonous man, and a winebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners.” (Luke 7:34) But herein lay the key to the unprecedented level of success that characterizes the person and work of Jesus Christ.  HE DID NOT FOCUS ON THE REJECTION OR THE REJECTERS!  Jesus did not worry about the lukewarm reception of family and friends who were somewhat offended by the spiritually authoritative words of their ‘homeboy.’ (Matthew 13:57) 

In my mind’s eye, I picture Jesus simply shrugging off their negative attitudes and opinions: ‘Oh well,’ He likely mused, ‘a prophet is always without honor in his own country.’   Thereafter, Jesus made the wise decision to work with those who “RECEIVED Him,” which means JESUS MOVED ON!  His actions are our template for handling chronic rejection.  At least emotionally (if not physically), we must resolve to MOVE ON!  It reminds me of the call of Abram, in which GOD clearly commanded him: “Get out of your country, from your family and your father’s house, to a land that I will show you.” (Genesis 12:1) Our greatest success occurs wherever GOD positions and plants us!

Kingdom Principle Number Four: GOD MOVES YOU OUT OF YOUR COMFORT ZONE TO BLESS AND POSITION YOU TO BLESS OTHERS. (Genesis 12:2) What you may now perceive as REJECTION is nothing more than an INTERMEDIARY STEP between your past and your future – between your human will and God’s perfect will – between your apparent failure and your appointed success.  Wow!

So live your life on purpose, my friend, with unmitigated faith, demonstrable courage and unshakable enthusiasm.  Never allow any person or circumstance to RAIN ON YOUR GOD-ORDAINED REIGN!  Your footsteps have been divinely ordered. (Psalm 37:23) So look up and think up!  Be focused and joyful!  That’s where your strength lies. (Nehemiah 8:10) I love Norman Vincent Peale’s perspective on this: “Life’s blows cannot break a person whose spirit is warmed at the fire of enthusiasm.”  If you persist in thinking positively about yourself and your future prospects, you will ultimately succeed. (Habakkuk 2:3) How so?  Simply put, YOU ARE A WINNER-BELIEVER! 

Allow me to cite one practical example.  Early in life, I achieved substantial success in sales.  The secret underlying my accomplishments was simply this:  I LEARNED HOW TO PROPERLY INTERPRET REJECTION.  In other words, I discovered that every “NO” is a necessary step toward the person who would say “YES!” Therefore, I carefully monitored and managed my sales activity and discovered that approximately 70% of my appointments had APPARENTLY NEGATIVE OUTCOMES, which simply meant that those prospects did not purchase what I was selling.  So instead of feeling discouraged when someone said “NO,” I STRATEGICALLY COUNTED IT as one more appointment I had to process before arriving at my “YES!”  The Word of God confirms this principle:

James 1:2-4
2 My brethren, COUNT IT ALL JOY when ye fall into diverse temptations;
3 Knowing this, that the trying of your faith works patience.
4 But LET PATIENCE HAVE HER PERFECT WORK, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.

The philosophy of Ralph Waldo Emerson is also in total agreement.  He wrote, “Dear to us are those who love us, but dearer are THOSE WHO REJECT US AS UNWORTHY, for they add another life we had not dreamed of, supply to us new powers and urge us to new and unattempted performances.”

I frame Emerson’s perspective this way: EVERY NEGATIVE SITUATION IS PROLOGUE TO FUTURE SUCCESS.  So we will never despair about dark or dubious circumstances; we will never yield to doubt or discouragement. Rather, we will CELEBRATE every challenging circumstance and individual who, by the apparent act of PUTTING US DOWN, quite literally succeeds in RAISING US UP!

Sisters and brothers, be continually blessed, and please (above all else) MAKE SURE YOU ARE READY TO MEET OUR SOON COMING KING. Maranatha!