Rejection

Few things hurt more in life than rejection. Nobody wants to be rejected. We want to be accepted, included, embraced. You may be reeling from the rejection you have experienced in your life or from the rejection you saw another experience. The great news for you is that God will never reject you. He rejects your sin, but He will never reject you! (Isaiah 53:5, Ephesians 1:7-8)

Many people live with a fear of rejection. In fact, that fear drives their decisions in life. Fear of rejection causes people to make poor choices or to head down a wrong path. The fundamental reason that happens is because they are aiming to please people instead of God. If we are going to get past the fear of rejection we must be able to get the right answer to a fundamental question: Who am I trying to please? God or man? Christ or culture? The Lord or the world? If you want to conquer the fear of rejection, then get the answer to this question right!

Once you determine you are gonna please God, not man, then the next question is: What is God looking for from me? Jesus made that very clear in The Great Commandment (Matthew 22:37-38) and The Great Commission (Matthew 28:19-20). Simply put, we are called to Love God, love others and to make disciples! If we love God and love others, then we will want to make disciples. Problem is, you may face some obstacles. One of those could be rejection.

I want to share three assurances that God offers to help you get past the fear of rejection with disciple making. Those three assurances come from the prophet Jeremiah’s call (Jeremiah 1:4-18; 17). Jeremiah’s story is really interesting. God called him at the tender age of 17 to tell the Israelites in Judah - who were far from God, hard-hearted and lost - to repent and turn back to God. Jeremiah knew this was going to be a tough task and doubted anyone would listen to him. Do you ever feel like that? God gave Jeremiah three assurances that are true for you as a Believer and disciple-maker!

1) You are created on purpose for a purpose! (Jeremiah 1:5; Isaiah 49:1). You are created to know Christ and to make Christ known! Jeremiah was created for a purpose. He was called by God to proclaim God’s truths to the people of Judah, who God loved and wanted to see turn back to Him. There are people in your life who God loves too; people who are far from Him. As a Believer, you are called to help reach them for Christ’s sake… to “make disciples.”

2) You are called to go without objections. (Jeremiah 1:6-7). Jeremiah was just 17 years old when God called him. He thought he was too young and people wouldn’t listen to him. Clearly, he feared rejection. You may think you are too young, don’t know enough or are too busy to “make disciples.” The truth is, we could come up with plenty of excuses, but God says, “Go!” We have good work to do. (Matthew 5:14-16)

3) You go with God’s presence and God’s protection! (Jeremiah 1:8,17). Over and over in Scripture, when God calls someone into ministry and service, He reminds them that He will be with them! (See Moses, Joshua, Gideon). He will be with you too! Don’t be afraid. Jeremiah faithfully preached for 40 years! But there is no indication he ever saw any real change in the hard-hearted people he was preaching too. The truth is, you may not see the results you want or expect or think you should. But don’t give up and don’t fear rejection. Stay faithful and true to your purpose… Love God, love others and make disciples!

Is there one in your life you can begin to build a deeper relationship with for the ultimate purpose of leading to Christ and helping them to know what it means to be a fully devoted Christ-follower? For much more, listen to No Fear! Part 2 - Rejection.