I have a good friend who has written some very good articles about the political and spiritual climate in America. I’m encouraging him to start a blog so others can read it. For now, he’s just doing FaceBook.
His name is Randy Davis. He’s an evangelist that combines preaching the Gospel with his own chalk drawings. I have had him speak a few times at my church. You can access his website here: www.chalkartist.com.
He penned some insights about the recent political movements in Arizona over their ‘religious freedom bill’. I guess they were considered caustic and FaceBook suspended his account for a few days. I read his post and saw nothing I wouldn’t say in church. When he got back on, he wrote the following article. I’ve cut out a few things, but Randy has some great wisdom on how to deal with rejection from others.
There will be those who reject us because of our relationship to Christ and His message. “You shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake …” (Matthew 10:22). We can rejoice in suffering reproaches for Christ’s sake; it is certainly not something we should fear (see II Corinthians 12:10 and Acts 5:41).
However, more often than fearing rejection for Christ’s sake, we fear “personal rejection” by others. On the wall of my office—I made a plaque over 20 years ago that says this:
Proverbs 29:25, “The fear of man brings a snare; but whoso puts his trust in the Lord shall be safe.”
The danger of this trap is the temptation to compromise our Godly convictions or be silent about the truth of God in order to gain acceptance from others. Therefore, we must give our reputations to God and focus on what He thinks about us.
Self-acceptance (believing that God created me with all of my unchangeable characteristics in the way that brings Him the most glory) plays an important role in overcoming the fear of rejection. An interesting aspect of human nature is that what we believe to be true in our hearts we find “evidence” to support.
If we reject the way God made us, we will expect others to find us unacceptable as well. Before long we will be experiencing this “rejection” from others in our day-to-day interactions with them, even when this may not have been their intention at all.
This is one reason why it is important to guard our hearts and choose to believe only those things that God says are true. (See Proverbs 4:23.)
Fear of rejection from others has its roots in self-rejection.
One of the most effective ways I know to ward off the fear of rejection is to take the offensive and become a channel of God’s love and acceptance to others. (See Acts 20:35.) |
In order to do this, however, we must first receive God’s love for ourselves. As we begin to comprehend the depths of God’s unconditional love for us and begin to recognize all of the treasures He has given us in Christ, we can then allow God to transform our feelings of rejection into motivations to encourage others.
Here are some practical ways I attempt to demonstrate acceptance of others:
• Greet people by name with a smile and enthusiasm.
• Giving genuine praise for the positive qualities I notice in them.
• Offering to do tasks others would appreciate, knowing there will likely be no recognition or thanks.
• Listening sincerely with a compassionate and understanding heart.
I have failed many times in my life and I have been hurt many times in my life. So has everyone else. I recall many years ago coming to that realization. I finally came to the place of asking myself if I was experiencing the “fear of rejection” because I had never truly accepted myself.
Believe what God says is true about you, receive the love He wants to give, and look for ways to show His love and acceptance to those around you.
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