Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning…
I will never leave you nor forsake you. (Psalm 30:5; Hebrews 13:5)
Shooting the Wounded
Author Lynn Dove describes herself as a Christ-follower, wife, mom, grandmother, teacher, and writer (in that order). She has three novels for teens and young adults: Shoot the Wounded, Heal the Wounded, and Love the Wounded.1 They make up The Wounded Trilogy.
Lynn says: We “shoot” wounded people who are the most vulnerable. As if hurt people haven’t suffered enough, we add to it by gossiping and treating them like outcasts. Instead of coming alongside them and supporting them in their troubles, we can fail them and kill their spirits.
The Bible is full of people who were rejected by others but noticed and loved by God.2 In the Four Gospels, Jesus demonstrated special concern for the little people, the so-called nobodies in the world, those neglected by the rich and powerful.3 C. S. Lewis spoke of the Lord’s care for the “outer ring people” who lack social prestige and influence. Unless the Holy Spirit changes our hearts, we are inclined (even in the church) to pay attention to those whose success earns them society’s praise and to ignore the underdogs.4
Other people can treat us as worthless and unlovable. They can criticize us, accuse us, or push us aside. The greatest danger may be that we turn other people’s rejection into self-rejection so that we doubt God’s true words toward us throughout the Scriptures. You may like my post: Joy in Jesus: Christian Self Image.
See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!.. God demonstrates His own love for us in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (1 John 3:1; Romans 5:8)
A Painful Thumbs-down
G. Campbell Morgan (1863–1945) was a sickly child who could not attend school and was tutored at home. He diligently studied the Bible and later became a lay preacher. Morgan felt called to enter the Wesleyan ministry. He took and passed the written examinations, but to be ordained, he also needed to deliver a trial sermon.
On that day, several pastors and many others gathered in a large auditorium to evaluate him. When Morgan stepped up to speak, he became terribly nervous. In the big room, with all the searching, judging eyes, he was rattled and preached badly. Two weeks later, his name appeared on the list of men rejected for ordination.
Morgan cabled his father one word: “Rejected.” He wrote in his diary: “Everything seems very dark. Still, I trust that the Lord knows best.”
Morgan’s father cabled back, “Never forget: Rejected on Earth, but accepted in Heaven. Love, Dad.”
Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you. He will never leave you nor forsake you… What, then, shall we say in response to hard things? If God is for us, who can succeed against us? (Deuteronomy 31:6; Romans 8:31)
Morgan felt like a flop and a failure, weak and unwanted. After working so hard to achieve this goal that he thought was God’s plan, he found the door shut in his face. He felt worthless.
In time, the Lord gave Morgan a better perspective on this letdown. Despite feelings of disappointment, Morgan trusted God’s truth:
The Lord declares: I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. You will seek Me and find Me when you seek Me with all your heart. I will be found by you. Jeremiah (29:11-14)
All Things For Good
Morgan also trusted Romans 8:28, “We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.” He believed that Jesus does all things well.
Despite wounded feelings, Morgan remembered Proverbs 24:16, which teaches that Christ’s followers may fall 7 times, but with the Lord’s help, we get up again and again to serve Him. When we are rejected from something we want, Jesus is often redirecting us to something better that He is preparing for us. In God’s kind and loving providence, when the Lord closes one door, He often opens another, sometimes slowly, sometimes quickly. If we focus only on slammed doors, we can miss the new opportunities Jesus opens.
By God’s grace, Campbell Morgan didn’t sink into self-pity and stay there. He leaned into the Lord and served in another denomination for over fifty years! Morgan became a leading evangelist, preacher, and Bible scholar. He pastored at Westminster Chapel in London, mentored Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, and authored over 80 Christian books during his lifetime. The Lord lifted up Morgan and made him God’s trophy. The Lord can do the same with us!
Morgan’s example reminds us that rejection in this life is not always permanent. Failure is not always fatal or final. A bend in the road is not the end of the road, unless we turn away from Christ. By Jesus’ mercy, circumstances can change, and hard times can pass. Best of all, there is never rejection in Heaven for people who are accepted by Jesus and follow Him by faith.
Action Items
When we are rejected by people for jobs, ministries, relationships, or in other ways, here are some truths from Scripture that help us:
- Remember that Jesus was rejected by people but chosen by God and precious to Him. That was uniquely true of Christ as Son of God, but also true for all His followers. 5
- Christ warned that we would be rejected, hated, and opposed for His sake. 6
- Satan wants to keep us discouraged and defeated. He tempts us to give up. We must submit ourselves to God, resisting the devil so that he will flee from us. 7
- Remember that the Lord’s grace is enough and that His power is made perfect in our weakness. 8
- Sometimes God allows us to be rejected so we learn not to rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead. 9
- As we trust and obey Him, the Lord will meet all our needs according to the riches of His glory in Christ Jesus. 10
- God never rejects, forsakes, or condemns Jesus’ followers. Nothing can separate us from His powerful love. 11
- Even if everything goes wrong here on Earth, our names are written in Heaven. We belong to Christ forever, and He will take us all the way home. 12
- Remember that because God has accepted us freely, graciously, and unconditionally in Jesus, we must accept other people, just as Christ accepted us, in order to bring praise to God. 13
Because of God’s love and faithfulness, we can:
- Call out to the Lord in prayer, knowing that He loves to hear from us.
- Ask Him to deliver us from all our troubles, failures, and rejections.
- Thank Him that He is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.
- Ask the God of hope to fill us with all joy and peace as we trust in Him.
- Ask Him to fill us to overflowing with hope by the Holy Spirit’s power. 14
Closing Thoughts
We cannot map out Jesus’ way for ourselves. We must be active participants in following Christ as He leads us through strange and unfamiliar territory. He guides us through circumstances that become clear only in hesitations and questionings, in pauses and reflections, where we engage in prayerful conversation with the Lord and with one another. (adapted from Eugene H. Peterson, 1932-2018)
Notes (various Bible translations): 1 lynndove.com. 2 Here are a few of the Bible characters who were unjustly wounded, rejected, or overlooked: Job, Hagar, Leah, Joseph, Moses, Jephthah, Naomi, Ruth, David, Jeremiah, and other prophets and apostles. Their rejection by humans often paved the way for God’s bigger plan to unfold. Most great men and women in Scripture were kicked in the teeth before the Lord elevated them. Our Lord Jesus Himself was despised and rejected by people, betrayed by Judas, denied by Peter, and rejected by his own community in Nazareth before God exalted Him to the highest place. See Phil 2:6-11. 3 I am thinking of Francis Schaeffer’s book No Little People (1974), where he writes that there are no little people in God’s sight, and no little places of serving Him (p. 9). 4 Adapted from Thomas Schreiner, Jesus’ Love for the Marginalized of this World, crossway.org, Jan 6, 2022. 5 1 Pet 2:4; Isa 53:3; John 1:11. 6 Luke 10:16; John 15:18. 7 1 Pet 5:8; James 4:7. 8 2 Cor 12:9. 9 2 Cor 12:9. 10 Phil 4:19. 11 Isa 49:15; Ps 27:10, 94:14. 12 Rom 8:1, 35, 39. 13 Luke 10:20. 14 Rom 15:7. 1514 Ps 6:4, 37:17-18, 50:15; Rom 15:13.