Being Rejected by Others - Job 30-31 and Acts 13:26-52
Rejection is one of the most hurtful things we experience as human beings. It comes for many reasons, and it is expressed in many ways. It almost always hurts us, because we all have the need to be loved and accepted. Therefore, when we are rejected for any reason, we feel unloved. That is painful. We need to see that people may reject us, but once we come to know Christ as Lord and Savior, He will never reject us or leave us. We can be secure in His love, no matter what other people do to us.
Job was rejected by those around him for several reasons. He was even rejected by people who were very unrighteous people. Now, they were looking down on him, and that hurt Job. Some people rejected him, because of his physical appearance. His skin was very dark, and it was falling off. They were turned off by his outward appearance, so they made fun of him in his pain. This happens to all of us in one way or another, but it is always hard. We should never reject another person because of their looks. That is prejudging them, and it is wrong. We are to look on the heart like God. Then, Job was rejected because of his bad situation. When people heard that he had lost everything, they thought he was evil, and God must have been punishing him. Therefore, they looked down on him. They did not know the full reason for Job's circumstances, but they assumed it was for doing evil. This happens to us all of the time, too. We are even tempted to judge other people wrongly, too. We must not reject people, because of what we assume.
In Acts 13 many of the Jews rejected the Gospel. In effect, they rejected Paul's message. This is hard, too. We tend to take it personally when someone rejects what we say or what we believe. We need to see that they are not rejecting us, but the Lord. We need to rest in our relationship with Christ and continue to do His will even when people reject us. The Devil uses rejection and the fear of rejection to keep us from witnessing to others. We must not give in to Satan in this area. We must move forward with the Lord, because we are accepted by Him. Then, we can overcome the hurt of being rejected by others.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Job 32-33 and Acts 14.
Job was rejected by those around him for several reasons. He was even rejected by people who were very unrighteous people. Now, they were looking down on him, and that hurt Job. Some people rejected him, because of his physical appearance. His skin was very dark, and it was falling off. They were turned off by his outward appearance, so they made fun of him in his pain. This happens to all of us in one way or another, but it is always hard. We should never reject another person because of their looks. That is prejudging them, and it is wrong. We are to look on the heart like God. Then, Job was rejected because of his bad situation. When people heard that he had lost everything, they thought he was evil, and God must have been punishing him. Therefore, they looked down on him. They did not know the full reason for Job's circumstances, but they assumed it was for doing evil. This happens to us all of the time, too. We are even tempted to judge other people wrongly, too. We must not reject people, because of what we assume.
In Acts 13 many of the Jews rejected the Gospel. In effect, they rejected Paul's message. This is hard, too. We tend to take it personally when someone rejects what we say or what we believe. We need to see that they are not rejecting us, but the Lord. We need to rest in our relationship with Christ and continue to do His will even when people reject us. The Devil uses rejection and the fear of rejection to keep us from witnessing to others. We must not give in to Satan in this area. We must move forward with the Lord, because we are accepted by Him. Then, we can overcome the hurt of being rejected by others.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Job 32-33 and Acts 14.