Rejection
Christmas is a time when many people have to deal with rejection. You may be traveling home for Christmas to face a situation where you have never been accepted for who you are. I don’t have any personal experience of rejection from my family but I know someone who has.
His name was Joseph and he was rejected by his brothers. He was tenth born of eleven children and there was a lot of rivalry, competition, and bitterness, among his siblings.
NAU Genesis 37:4 His brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers; and so they hated him and could not speak to him on friendly terms.
His brothers were extremely jealous of him because his relationship with his dad was special. This jealousy drove them to devise a plan to get rid of Joseph.
Genesis 37:19 They said to one another, “Here comes this dreamer! 20 “Now then, come and let us kill him and throw him into one of the pits; and we will say, ‘A wild beast devoured him.’ Then let us see what will become of his dreams!”
How’s that for brotherly love? They put him in a pit and ended up selling him into slavery. Overnight he went from pampered son to slave. That’s rejection by your family! Things ended up working out for Joseph because he relied on God. If you face rejection take a cue from Joe and keep looking up! God has a plan but things may get worse before they get better—more about that later. How do you deal with rejection?
It’s a horrible feeling to be rejected – it’s downright painful! But I think that no matter what the situation is in our lives – including rejection – we have to seek God and His guidance. And we need to always know and remember that He will never reject, leave us or foresake us – and if God is for us – who can be against us??
I get mad. Professionally, I take it personally even if it isn’t meant to be. Relationally, it can feel like rejection even if it isn’t meant to be. Both twist me off. You’re so right Kris. In a world where so much is lost in translation, He is vividly clear and accepting.