“But when they opposed and insulted him, Paul shook the dust from his clothes and said, “Your blood is upon your own heads—I am innocent. From now on I will go preach to the Gentiles.” Acts 18:6’
Rejection is the dismissing or refusing of a proposal or idea. It is the spurning of a person’s affections. Feeling rejected is the opposite of feeling accepted. But being rejected (and we all will be at times) doesn’t mean someone isn’t liked, valued, or important. It just means that one time, in one situation, with one person, things didn’t work out. Rejection hurts. But it’s impossible to avoid it altogether.
What the Holy Spirit is teaching us today is that rejection may be good for you. Sometimes rejection, opposition, and insults push you to fulfil destiny!
Let us look at three people in the Bible that rejection pushed to fulfill destiny.
Paul
In Acts 9 : 15 “But the Lord said unto him, (Ananias) Go thy way: for he is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel:”
God wanted Paul to bring the message of salvation to the Gentiles. He was pushing himself to preach to the Jews until this happened!
“But when they opposed and insulted him, Paul shook the dust from his clothes and said, “Your blood is upon your own heads—I am innocent. From now on I will go preach to the Gentiles.” Acts 18:6’
Joseph
The story of Joseph is well known. He had the dream to be a leader. Shared it with his brothers. They rejected him, and sold him into slavery:
“And when they saw him afar off, even before he came near unto them, they conspired against him to slay him. And they said one to another, Behold, this dreamer cometh. Come now therefore, and let us slay him, and cast him into some pit, and we will say, Some evil beast hath devoured him: and we shall see what will become of his dreams.”Gen 27:18-20
As a slave in the house of Mr. & Mrs Potiphar, he suffered another rejection which led him to prison but, he went from prison to the palace:
“And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, See, I have set thee over all the land of Egypt.” Gen 41:41
Jesus
Jesus suffered what we can call the mother of all rejections. But the most crucial rejection was when Pilate was to make a decision between releasing Jesus who committed no sin and Barabbas a notorious murderer:
“So when the crowd had gathered, Pilate asked them, “Which one do you want me to release to you: Barabbas, or Jesus who is called the Messiah? Pilate saith unto them, What shall I do then with Jesus which is called Christ? They all say unto him, Let him be crucified” Matt 27:17,22.
Fast forward: Jesus was crucified, died, buried and on the third day he arose. He died so that he can be a ransom for our sins. He fulfilled destiny. “And he saith unto them, Be not affrighted: Ye seek Jesus of Nazareth, which was crucified: he is risen; he is not here: behold the place where they laid him.” Mark 16:6
You will not pass every interview. Some people may not allow you to marry the person you love. That boy/ girl may walk out on your wedding day! You may not get a particular contract. You may not secure visa to the country you wanted to go or get visa at all. Some church members may walk out on you because you preached holiness and integrity. You may not win that election. Your parents may reject you ( Psalm 27:10). You may suffer divorce. The list is endless.
However; “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.” Rom 8:28
Conclusion: Paul, Joseph and Jesus’s rejections were stepping stones to their successes. Should I now be praying for rejection? Maybe, maybe not. Someone prayed – “May your ways be rough” Is it a good prayer? Maybe, maybe not. The likelihood you will not be rejected at one point or the other in your lifetime is slim. Here is my counsel, like Paul will say, I have not received this directly from the Lord, but I speak as someone with His spirit. – Whenever you are rejected, ask the Lord what do you want me to learn from this. See every rejection as a learning curve, a time of reflection, and rethinking. Use rejection to your advantage. Most importantly don’t kill yourself because you are rejected- rejection may be a rough path to your glorious destiny- embrace it.
Shalom–
O taste and see that the Lord is good.(Psalm 34:8). I have tasted and found that the Lord is good. I do testify that the Lord is good. Join me to taste him.
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