Rejection. Such a harsh word that it causes me to have a pit in my stomach whenever I think of the word. A major fear among all humans and a reality of life, rejection is something we face on a regular basis. Whether it be in school, work, extracurriculars, friends and romantic relationships (just to name a few), we experience rejection regularly, so much so that it can feel like it happens on a daily basis.
Iv'e had my fair share of rejection, but for whatever reason this week seemed to have several different events that led to persistent feelings of rejection, more so than usual. Not so coincidently this was also the week that the book Uninvited by Lysa TerKeurst finally got into my hands after a long ordeal of the books I ordered being accidentally delivered to my house instead of to my university address- funny how God's timing works right? As I sat down to start reading I told myself that I wanted to at least get through one chapter of the book at work. Before I knew it I looked down and I was 50 pages into the book. Everything that I have been feeling for the past week was suddenly written out in front of my eyes.
As someone who still struggles with major people pleasing tendencies, whenever someone says something to me that might even dance along the line of rejection, it immediately effects me and the way I think about myself in a horribly negative way. Lysa says in her book "That person's line becomes a label. The label becomes a lie. And the lie becomes a liability in how we think about ourselves and interact in every future relationship." It can become so easy for me to let what other people say about me effect how I view myself, and I can see how that eventually effects my relationships and how I act around other people. It can be difficult to live into having confidence in who God made you to be when others around you make you feel like you have no reason to have such confidence.
As I continued reading, I came across a truth that I desperately needed to hear: "No person's rejection can ever exempt me from God's love for me. Period. No question mark. The most beautiful love story ever written is the one you were made to live with God." How wonderfully refreshing it is to know that no matter what other's think about us, say about us or to us, it never changes how much God loves us. We are forever infinitely loved by our Creator.
Rejection is hard. The feelings that come with it can be devastating. It can be easy to loose sight of who you truly are. We must continually remind ourselves of who we are in Christ, and how what the world says about us does not hinder that. The world says rejected, but our God says loved.
Lysa TerKeurst- thank you for encouraging us to live loved.
