Overcoming Rejection
"He is despised and rejected of
men; a man of sorrows, and
acquainted with grief: and we
hid as it were our faces from
him; he was despised, and we
esteemed him not."
- Isaiah 53:3
In high school I played on the
softball team for two years. As
a freshman I was on the junior
varsity (JV) team, and since I
had already been in Little
League for several years, I was
a pretty good player and got a
lot of playing time. When I came
back the next year as a
sophomore, I had a chance to
make the varsity team. Only a
few sophomores were good enough
to play varsity, and I was right
on the edge of making the team.
At one of our last tryouts, I
realized the coaches were
particularly watching two of us.
The other girl was a freshman
who had been playing softball
for nearly her entire life. It
was cold and wet out on the
grass where we were running
drills, and both of us were
working our hardest to field
choppy grounders and throw them
back as fast and hard as
possible. I gave everything I
had, but it was not good enough
for the coaches. The other girl
was chosen and I played JV for
another year.
While competition can be good
because it pushes us to do our
best, it also means we will
sometimes face rejection. Most
of us have experienced being
rejected from something—perhaps
the college of our choice, a
job, or even by someone we care
about—and it is usually
unpleasant. Even when we know
the rejection was not our fault,
it has the potential of leaving
us feeling ashamed, unwanted,
and insecure.
In the Bible, we read of how
people despised and rejected our
Lord. He spent His life doing
good works for others, yet He
was denied by His closest
friends. Still today, people
refuse the sacrifice He made and
the salvation He offers, a
rejection which must be
agonizing. Because of these
experiences, Jesus understands
how we feel when we are told we
are not good enough. He knows
what we are going through, and
if we take our burdens to Him,
He can give comfort in a way
that no one else can.
How good it is to know that God
accepts us as we are! He bestows
on us His wondrous love no
matter what our human
limitations are. He does not ask
us to do things that are beyond
our capabilities; all He asks is
that we give Him our best. And
He knows what that is because He
looks on the heart! He will not
turn His back on us and nothing
can separate us from His love.
It might seem difficult to
understand at the time, but God
has a reason for everything He
allows in our lives—even
rejection. When we feel as
though we cannot meet others’
expectations, let us focus on
seeking God’s approval instead.
He always understands us and
will never reject us. And while
the applause of man will last
but for a moment, the benefits
of God’s approval will be
eternal!
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