Rejection Will Fall

I cannot begin to tell you the number of times that I struggled with the giant of rejection while I was growing up… As a child, as a teenager, as a college student, as a young minister, as a wife, and as a mother.  It is my prayer, as you read this, as I have this morning for devotion, that you will experience the love of Christ in a new and special way and that you never, again, will feel the pain of rejection.

David was just a teenager when he arrived at battle between the Israelites and Philistines. He wasn’t a member of the army, but was just delivering supplies to his brothers. As he got to the camp, he heard Goliath’s taunting—and asked who was going to take him down. His brother didn’t appreciate his inquisitiveness. Note the text: “When Eliab, David’s oldest brother, heard him speaking with the men, he burned with anger at him and asked, ‘Why have you come down here?’” (1 Samuel 17:28).

This response isn’t surprising if we know the rest of the story. In 1 Samuel 16, we learn that when the prophet Samuel came to Jesse’s house to anoint a new king for Israel, Jesse started with the oldest, Eliab. Eliab was the biggest, oldest, and strongest of the brothers. Surely he was going to be the new king. But God said, “Nope. Not him.” Undoubtedly, Eliab felt spurned. The system seemed upside down. He wasn’t chosen as king. Instead, the youngest brother was—the kid who wasn’t even in the lineup. Eliab felt rejected, and rejected people reject people.

None of us like to feel we aren’t good enough. Or smart enough. Or wanted enough. As much as we wish it weren’t so, the opinions of others matter. A word of rejection, even something small that wasn’t aimed to hurt us, can stick and sting. A tiny seed of rejection can take root and wreak havoc in seasons to come. Before long, we forget God miraculously created us for a purpose and a plan. We forget that he doesn’t ask us to compare ourselves to others or run someone else’s race. We lose sight of our miraculous beginning and our re-creation in the person of Christ. Before long, we find ourselves tormented by this giant of rejection.

Experiencing Jesus’ victory over the giant of rejection comes from seeing yourself the way that your heavenly father sees you—as his dearly and loved child. As Paul wrote, “If we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory” (Romans 8:17). God did not accept you because of anything you had done, but just because he loved you (see 1 John 4:19). What’s more, God loved you so much that he was willing to pay an enormous cost to bring you close to him: the death of his own Son, Jesus, on the cross.

Imagine Jesus today whispering in your ear, “I really, really love you. I am already pleased with you!” It might feel crazy to think the God of heaven—the creator of the universe—knows you so personally. Many of us freak out when we get thirty likes on a social media post. Yet the God of the universe is mindful of you (see Psalm 8)! He has pursued you (see Luke 15:3–7).

Before you were even conceived, God went on record and said, “I choose you as my own.” That truth should cultivate a sense of acceptance within you. Your worth isn’t wrapped up in what you achieve but is forever anchored in the fact that Jesus was given for you. You were made to be accepted and embraced by your heavenly Father. You were made to be loved, for free. You live from his acceptance, not for the acceptance of others. As you come to realize this, the giant of rejection will fall in your life. (Louie Giglio)

“This resurrection life you received from God is not a timid, grave-tending life. It’s adventurously expectant, greeting God with a childlike “What’s next, Papa?” God’s Spirit touches our spirits and confirms who we really are. We know who he is, and we know who we are: Father and children. And we know we are going to get what’s coming to us—an unbelievable inheritance! We go through exactly what Christ goes through. If we go through the hard times with him, then we’re certainly going to go through the good times with him!”

Romans 8:15-17msg

Goliath (Fear) Must Fall

This was my devotion this morning and as the sun struggled to find any breaks in the clouds of this day, I felt impressed to share these words with you. Have a blessed day.

"When you read the story of David and Goliath in the Bible, one of the first things you notice is that the Israelite army was “dismayed and terrified” of the giant (1 Samuel 17:11). Goliath started each day with taunts and ended each day with taunts. As time went by, all that demoralizing and diminishing had an effect on the Israelites. They began to believe in spite of their best efforts, something undesirable was going to happen to them . . . their defeat.

This is basically the definition of fear—the belief that something is out there that is going to get you that you can’t do anything to stop. This fear can manifest itself in many different ways—anxiety, nervousness, worry, stress, dread, hopelessness, panic, to name a few—and can spring up in your life from a variety of sources. Perhaps you experience fear as a result of the environment in which you were raised. Maybe your family treated life like one big threat that never diminished. At any minute, something could go wrong . . . and it probably would.

Or perhaps you experience fear as a result of trying to conceal mistakes and imperfections in your life. You are ashamed of something you’ve done in the past, and you worry that one day it will be made public and brought to light. Or perhaps you experience fear as a result of trying to control too many things in your life. You’ve realized that most things in life are out of your control, and this makes you fearful about what will happen in the future.

The giant of fear can get a foothold in your life and begin to dominate you. It can demoralize you and ultimately diminish God’s glory in your life. It can chew away at your life, erode your sense of confidence, rob you of sleep, blind you, and steal your praise to God. Fear is a relentless giant. And it is one that must fall through the power of Jesus.

The solution to facing the giant of fear is not determination but faith in Jesus. It isn’t so much saying, “Fear, go away,” but confessing, “I have confidence that Jesus is bigger than this giant and has already defeated it.” In Romans 10:17, Paul states, “Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (NKJV). When you see and hear God in and through his Word, the Word allows you to see and hear that He is bigger than your giant. That builds up your faith, and your faith in turn becomes the stone that shuts up the giant that’s already defeated.

So today, identify the source of your fear and place it in the hands of Jesus. Remind yourself that with God all things are possible (see Matthew 19:26) and he is able to overcome this giant. Remember that Jesus has promised to always be with you (see Hebrews 13:5). Name what is keeping you up at night, and then offload those cares to the One who has promised to care for you (see 1 Peter 5:7). Then fill your mouth with praise because you see God’s might, recognize his love for you, and know that he will always come through. His mercy will never fail (see Lamentations 3:22).

As you do this, even though the cause of your fear may not be removed, you will be actively relegating fear to its proper place: into the hands of Christ." (Louie Giglio)

“But now thus says the Lord, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: "Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you.”

Isaiah 43:1-2 ESV