“Dealing with Rejection”

Daily Devotional – Wednesday, February 9, 2022

“He was despised and rejected—a man of sorrows, acquainted with deepest grief. We turned our backs on him and looked the other way. He was despised, and we did not care.” (Isaiah 53:3, NLT)

Dealing with rejection can leave us feeling dejected. But before you go down that path again (for some more travelled than for others) ask yourself this question, “Why am I allowing this person/situation to have power over me?” Is it possible to positively deal with others’ rejection?
Jesus faced more rejection than most, but you will never find him beating himself up over someone else’s response to him. When the people of his hometown rejected him, even attempting to push him over the cliff on which Nazareth was built, he simply walked through the crowd and went onto the next town (Luke 4:28-30).

When members of Jesus’ family determined that he must be crazy and had to be taken in hand by force, he refused to meet with them. He simply told the gathered crowd that those who obeyed the will of the Father were his family (Mark 3:21-32).

When a crowd wanted to force him to become king, after the miracle of feeding 5,000 with a boy’s lunch, he explained his purpose to them. He hadn’t come to be a king over the Jewish nation only; he was there to provide a way for all people to be restored to God the Father. Many of his disciples deserted him because he wasn’t living up to their expectations. So, he continued his mission with those who stayed (John 6:60-66).

And the religious leaders, so consumed by their jealousy, simply wanted him dead. He had done nothing deserving death, they simply chose to reject him out of hand. But Jesus knew that this too was all part of God’s plan (Luke 22:2).

No matter how people responded to him, Jesus remained constant—obedient to God, assured of his call, providing correction as needed, but always motivated by his love for God and people. Jesus knew that his relationship with God, and fulfilling the purpose for which he came, was of paramount importance. He would not be popular with some, but that was immaterial. God’s response was the only one worth considering. I am certain that he had bad days, but he never allowed people’s rejection of him to determine his self-worth or to cause him to become dejected. Let’s ask the Holy Spirit to help us follow Jesus’ example!
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Pastor Jane