[ What shall we then say to these things? If God [be] for us, who [ can be] against us? ~Romans 8:31 ]
Unfortunately, we've all been there, being rejected is one nasty part of this 'life bootcamp' we're all on! No matter how you spin it; whether it's rejection form a job, dating, friends, or family it angers and cuts through our heart like a warm knife through butter. However, in our present time there are no guarantees to being treated fair
[ Perry's rejection after reaching out to Janine was brutal! Clawdie shares how most of the LivingThruGrace Crew have difficulties with Janine, She's going to learn that humans will disappoint; God does not... ]
When we've been hurt it feels like the 'enemie's' won {they feel the same way on their end too...}, but so often the way situations play out are beyond our power. It's so easy to drown ourselves in anger, feelings of revenge, feeling sorry for ourselves, and most of all feelings that we are unlovable... Remember, FEELINGS aren't FACTS!
Feelings are like that person who always gossips and tells lies. Lies, half truths, distortions all a part of the Feeling game!!!
Remember what God teaches us, that we are to be set apart from the rest of the world. Relying on our feelings leads to those 'worldly reactions'. Relying on feelings leads us right into satan's snare and we're easy prey because we've had an emotional beat down!! We're all 'infected' by the fall of man and are in desperate need of a
REBOOT!
You've experienced it; the replaying in you mind of your situation, working up different scenarios, and endings right? Or is that just me? LOL! This behavior is pointless and keeps us chained to our misery. { but we do it... } This is why the Lord is consistently teaching us to manage those emotions so they won't manage us. He calls for us to stop and examine our hearts, and fall back onto his teachings and learn to react from them. This { 'ain't' easy! }
We are NOT unlovable of course, mind tricks!! We NOT unworthy; mind tricks!! Have we played a part in our debacles? Maybe, maybe not... What does matter is that God has his eye on OUR REACTIONS, and Our behavior to inequitable actions! It's all a part of our Refinement! That word again! Ugh, it's freakin' hard!!! :-7 God is scrubbing us y'all! He's filling in holes and removing all that crusty grout and 'buildup' in order to create a clean space, a place where he can write on our walls; his story, his map for us to follow...
[ Life is heavy, but we can keep on pushing and moving and becoming who God made us to be!! ]
Ok, we know the story of Joseph, and horrors of what he went through because of his brothers. We know that he Chose to be the best soldier for God in lieu of all of that...and that he was greatly rewarded. Yes, he and many others and their stories are solid examples for us to learn by and demonstrate God's fruits...but yet we still struggle with this. Being hurt, especially when you've put so much into the relationship (friends, family etc ...), cause 'blind spots'. We know who we are in God, but we can't see it because of these blinders that cause us to keep stumbling. God knows, he realizes that all of this is part of our 'bootcamp' and until we get in better shape (spiritual) we're going to keep going back through those brutal 'workouts'.
[ Ew! Memba these?? I know some of you still eat them! LOL!! ]
The type of 'filling' we have within (yes, like a Twinkie!) will show when we're 'squeezed'! LOL!! Our Lord allows us to get squeezed, squished even ( oh man, have I been squished flat lately!!!) to improve the quality and 'taste' of that filling. ( you might say changing that filling to a 'Fruit'-full one!... I had to do it! LOL ) Because we are broken, both by sin and by 'life' we're full of additives and chemicals, i.e.: bitterness, rage, anger etc...
Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and glamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: And be kind to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you. ~Ephesians 4:31-32
All that being said, I love the Lord so much...so much, more each moment that I survive life's days, weeks, and years. His grace has allowed for me to have this platform (hence the name!). It's given me the space to fall, to fail, and to grow. He doesn't give up on us and this reason (besides my love for him!) is one of the key reasons that I Repent and keep repenting for 'wrong' thoughts, unforgiving ones, hurtful/vengeful ones, and so on. I keep moving back into the space where he desires me to be, a teachable space, a healing space, an open space where I can bring others along, where I seek out my piece of the Holy Spirit; remembering I'm better than that; I am set apart. I choose to cling to the Holy spirit; when life attempts to reform me into something that I am not.
In Summary:
Rejection Will happen, so we must Breathe, Think; feelings don't equal facts and are Not our maps to follow for our reactions. We must Rewind and Untwist our worldly thinking and Remold it back into Set Apart thinking. We must Pray and yes for them too...we must Let go and let God move us forward into our New Space for living. We are Survivors, we are Thrivers and Mix Masters! Yep, we can take those old hurtful ingredients add in our new and improved ones ( In this case they really ARE
improved! They are fresh from God's garden of fruit-fulness!!)
And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are called according to [his] purpose. ~ 8:28