*Some Scars Don’t Heal. Rejection is one of those. You think it is healed. But when you are touched in the same place, the wound opens up again.
You need God to heal your wounds from being rejected.
*You were born to belong. Belonging is one of the deep desires of our hearts. Because we live in a fallen world, all of us have been rejected, left out, chosen last, or laughed at. Think school. And many of us have scars, deep scars of rejection.
*The deep desires of our hearts were placed there by God. They are not to be disciplined, denied or ignored. Heart desires cannot be filled by people or things. They are God-sized holes in our hearts that only He can fill.
For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him.
Philippians 2:13 (NLT)
Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.
Psalm 37:4 (NIV)
But desire fulfilled is a tree of life.
Proverbs 13:12 (NASB)
****Rejection Comes When We Try to Get People to Fill Our Need to Belong.
We offered ourselves to be a friend, to be loved by someone, or just to be part of a team or some group. They said, “No!” I don’t want to be your friend. I don’t love you. You aren’t good enough to be on the team. Etc.
Through experiences like these our minds form beliefs, scripts that run around in our minds warning us not to offer friendship, love or to try be part of a group or team. These beliefs bring with them strong memories of the pain of failed friendships, broken hearts and not making the cut for the team. These emotional memories drive our beliefs and create fear of rejection. They rob us of rich, full lives in relationship with others.
Activation – Look for the Lie. Replace it with Truth!
1. Think of a time you were rejected. Most of us have plenty of these. Go to the one that hurt the most. It still hurts, doesn’t it?
Be clear. Why did that “rejection” hurt so much?
What would that possibility of acceptance have given to you?
And why did you need that (at that time in your life).
Got it? Good.
2. Look for the lie.
In most cases, the lie was your belief that you needed to get that benefit from that person or group. The lie is that God wouldn’t give it to you or that you didn’t already have it!
If you can’t readily identify the lie, ask Jesus, “What was the lie I believed here?”
Got it. I knew you would.
3. God wants to replace your experiences of rejection with the ultimate acceptance and belonging – HIS!!
Renew Your Mind according to Romans 12:2
Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think.
Romans 12:2 NLT
Read these words aloud. Then Read them again, slowly. Let them sink into your heart.
Take them as you would medicine for pain. When you are hurting, take some more. There are no side effects. Life and healing are in God’s words.
**You Belong to God.
But you belong to God
1 John 4:4
I have called you by name; you are mine.
Isaiah 43:1 (NLT)
4 But you belong to God, my dear children. You have already won a victory over those people, because the Spirit who lives in you is greater than the spirit who lives in the world. 5 Those people belong to this world, so they speak from the world’s viewpoint, and the world listens to them.
1 Corinthians 7:23 (NLT) [The context is over people claiming to be prophets, but are not.]
You will always have a place with Jesus!
There is more than enough room in my Father’s home. If this were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am. John 14:2-3 (NLT)
And all of this is a gift from God, who brought us back to himself through Christ. And God has given us this task of reconciling people to him. 2 Corinthians 5:18 (NLT)
**You are Always On God’s Mind
Can a mother forget her nursing child?
Can she feel no love for the child she has borne?
But even if that were possible,
I would not forget you!
See, I have written your name on the palms of my hands. Isaiah 49:15-16
No one and nothing can take away the belonging You have.
My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one can snatch them away from me, for my Father has given them to me, and he is more powerful than anyone else. No one can snatch them from the Father’s hand. John 10:27-29 (NLT)
It is the Lord who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not leave you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed. Deuteronomy 31:8,
You are a son/a daughter of God. You belong. It doesn’t get any better than this!!
No matter what happened to you in the past and no matter what you are going through right now, this is what is true!
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