Embracing Rejection | The Worshipper's Thought of the Day

While chronicling the history of FHW on yesterday evening, I had to take a trip down memory lane to the beginning of my life as a blogger.  Back in May 2006, I started blogging on MySpace.  For the curious followers of my writing, the blog is still viewable (http://www.myspace.com/eltontaylor/blog) but don't be too hard on me.  After all, it was almost five years ago. But back to the point at hand.  As I was skimming through these older writings of mine, I ran across a couple of posts on rejection that caught my attention and I would like to share some excerpts from them with you all.

Rejection is as common as the cold because we experience it in so many different areas of our lives. There's rejection at work, at school, in the home, in love, etc., etc., etc.  We always find ourselves not meeting every expectation held of us, and unfortunately some people - including myself - really get bent out of shape about it.

Rejection has a way of making us question ourselves, our purpose, our identity, our callings, and much more.  But keep this in mind: we should not run away from rejection.  Moreover, we should not allow the approval or disapproval of others to control our lives and how we live each day.

Sometimes we feel responsible for others loving or accepting us, and that's just not the case.  Basically it goes like this: when people don't want you, they don't want you.  The best thing to do is to face the music: your season is over.  Simply accept the rejection as your wake-up call to move on.  Don't even bother changing your appearance to gain the acceptance of those who have rejected you.
 
The way to deal with rejection is to die to and with the object of your rejection.  If it's a relationship, die with it and to it when it ends.  The same goes for a job when that's over.  See, when you're dead to something, you can neither feel the hurt or pain associated with it.  Furthermore, nothing - not one single thought, emotion, or mindset - concerning that rejection can follow you beyond the point of death.  It is in your death to that very rejection that your emotions become totally unaffected.

We have no authority from God to strike back when we've been rejected.  Holding on to your rejection and the emotions associated with it blocks the promotion, which is the purpose of experiencing rejection.  God allowed this to happen so He can bring you somewhere better.  Let go of the desire to justify yourself or prove your point: it's only delaying your coming promotion.
 
And please do not make the mistake of looking for acceptance elsewhere following rejection.  You're broken and hurt, and you stand a very good chance of becoming trapped in your search.  There's no need to go searching for acceptance when God has already accepted you.  Even with all of our faults and shortcomings, God accepts us.  Let your acceptance by God become stronger than your rejection.  Accept who God says you are, not the value others place on you.