One of the hardest things I have found in becoming part of God’s Called Remnant, is that not everyone in your life will understand or share your joy in the transformation God is doing in your life. I remember when I first got saved, I was so excited! No one had ever told me what Jesus had done for me, it really was the “Good News!” And I wanted everyone I loved to know what God had done for them… The response I received was like a slap in the face. I write this because one of the hardest lessons I have had to swallow in becoming a Born-Again Believer is that not everyone will share your joy. 2 Corinthians 4:4 says:
“Satan, who is the god of this world, has blinded the minds of those who don’t believe. They are unable to see the glorious light of the Good News. They don’t understand this message about the glory of Christ, who is the exact likeness of God.”
It hurts when you are rejected for your faith. There is no getting around it. There are no adequate words I can write to soften the pain of rejection by loved ones for your faith in God. But what I can say is this – JESUS KNOWS. JESUS UNDERSTANDS. JESUS EXPERIENCED REJECTION TOO. John 1:11 says:
“He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him.”
And in Mark 12:10:
“The Stone which the builders rejected, this became the Chief Corner Stone.”
And even in Jesus’ own home town they said in Mark 6:3:
“Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, and the brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon? Are not His sisters here with us?” And they took offense at Him.”
One of the reasons why God inspired men to write the Bible was to help us to find comfort in the fact that there is NOTHING that we experience that Jesus’ has not experienced. It is God’s living Word and it is there we find wisdom and comfort and guidance. James 1:2-8:
“Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do.”
Jesus felt the pain of rejection that you may feel should you not be accepted for your faith and commitment to Him. If you experience this – make sure that you bring it to Him in prayer. It hurts! John 3:16 says:
“God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him, shall not perish but have everlasting life.”
God’s gift of His Son, Our Savior Jesus is rejected by people over and over and over again. When I say God knows your pain, I mean it. But this is what God has called us to do – and it MAY be the reason why He removed the spiritual blinders off YOUR eyes to do so… Jesus IS our example, the Bible IS our guidebook. What did (does) Jesus do??? HE LOVES ANYWAYS. LOVE, LOVE, LOVE, LOVE, LOVE. Walk in LOVE.
When you experience rejection, PRAY. When you accept Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior the Bible says in Luke 15:10:
“In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”
The angels in Heaven rejoiced over your decision! At the same time, your salvation has brought you front and center to the attention of ol’ slewfoot and his demons. Before, you were ignorant and not stirring up trouble for them. Before you were not covered under the blood of Jesus. Before you were not a force to be reckoned with – now, they have lost one more in the battle to the victory of Jesus and they are roaring angry! 1 Peter 5:8 says:
“Be sober, be vigilant, because your adversary the devil walketh about as a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.”
I don’t say this to cause you to be scared or in fear, because “Greater is He that is in you than he that is within the world.” (See 1 John 4:4) but I tell you because although you were ALWAYS in a spiritual war that you were not aware of prior to your conversion to Christ, now you are “in the know” and must fill yourself up with the Word of God so that you can know what the weapons of your warfare are. Hosea 4:6 says:
“My people perish for lack of knowledge…”
The more you study the Word of God, the more you pray about situations and converse with God in prayer, the more girded up with the truth of God you will be. I speak from personal experience. THE BATTLE IS REAL but GOD IS GREATER and the VICTORY HAS ALREADY BEEN WON.
I look over my life in Christ over the past 34 years and with each battle that has come my way, my faith in God has gotten stronger. My determination to follow Him has deepened. As much as my spiritual walk with Him has been a personal one (as is or will be yours if you are just starting out) I know that He has been with me the entire way. Remember NOTHING can not touch you that God does not allow. Psalms 37:23 says:
“The steps of the righteous are ordained by God.”
YOUR STEPS are ORDERED by Him. God has called you for such a time as this and if God is for you, who can be against you? (See Romans 8:31).
Let the light of Christ shine through you and others will see the difference in you. God will give you “divine appointments” with people He puts in your path. The light of Christ radiates from those who love God and you will be used as a vessel to bring others to Him. As for those that reject you, know that it is not YOU that they are rejecting – it is Christ IN you. And in that instance, God calls us to intercede on their behalf. This can feel really difficult to do, because satan knows that the people who can hurt you most are those you love the most, and if they are still spiritually blind, they are not aware of the pain they are inflicting on you. It is God they are rejecting, you are just the vessel. FORGIVE THEM. Even if you have to do it over and over and over again. Matthew 18:21-22 Peter has a conversation with Jesus:
“Then Peter came up and said to him, “Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?” Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy times seven.”
Forgiveness IS hard, especially if it is something that is an ongoing hurt. One of the things we always need to keep in mind is what Jesus said in Matthew 6:15:
“If you forgive those who sin against you, your heavenly Father will forgive you. But if you refuse to forgive others, your Father will not forgive your sins.”
If Jesus, while hanging up on that cross for sins that He did not commit can say, “Forgive them Father for they know not what they do.” (See Luke 23:34)
Than we need to walk in forgiveness as Jesus (who is our example) did. It can feel like it is one of the very hardest things to do, believe me I know. But in loving God we show Him love by walking in love and there may be times when we have to ask for the help of Holy Spirit. To help us love. That’s okay, God knows how difficult it can be loving someone who is mean spirited against you. He experienced it from ALL angles, including right from His inner-circle (remember it was one of His own 12 – Judas who betrayed Him). Bring your pain before the Father AND intercede for those who persecute you for your faith. God CAN and WILL use you to bring others to Christ. And personally, I can tell you that there is NO greater joy (in the midst of pain) of Holy Spirit softening the heart of a loved one and God using YOU to minister God’s love to them and bring them to Christ. What an honor to be a vessel used by God to bring them to knowledge and love of Christ.
God knows what He is doing and He has created you for a purpose. YOUR purpose is to find out what that purpose is! And once you have found out what it is – walk in it! I can attest that there is NO greater joy than walking in the calling God has for your life! Knowing also that God holds you in the very palms of His hands! (See Isaiah 49:16).
And He WILL complete a good work in you! (See Philippians 1:6).
So, if you are rejected because of your faith – know that Jesus was too. Instead of allowing it to wound you (as satan intended) bring those that reject you through prayer right to the foot of the cross and give them to Jesus. Pray that God will open their eyes to their salvation as He opened your eyes. In fact, let’s pray now:
“Father God, more and more I thank you so much for removing the spiritual blinders off my eyes and using Holy Spirit to bring me into the knowledge of You. I love You Father, please forgive me for my sins and wash me with the precious blood of Jesus. Father, I know You see me, I know You love me, I know it is NOT Your will that ANY should perish. I come before You and I lift up my loved ones (YOU CAN EVEN NAME THEM RIGHT HERE) to you. Father, I pray that You would remove the scales from their spiritual eyes. I pray that they would come to know You as Lord and Savior… As someone must have interceded for me, I intercede now for them and pray that not a one would be lost. I pray that You would bring others into their lives to minister to them and that you would surround them by Your Holy Spirit and by Your angels and that You would tear down the strongholds of the evil one in whatever manner needed. Father, thank You for loving them, thank You for dying on the cross for forgiveness of their sins as You died on the cross for forgiveness of mine. Reach them Lord. I CHOOSE to forgive them for their rejection. I give You each wound and I pray that You would heal my heart. I intercede and pray for them on their behalf, please hear my prayer. I thank You that as You have done with me, You will do for them. Thank You Father. In Jesus precious name I pray. AMEN”
We can’t “make” someone love our God, but we can pray that God would change their hearts (as He changed ours) so that they would know the love of Jesus we have come to know. He IS able. We can’t give away our faith – but we can intercede and pray believing that God WILL grow faith into the hearts of those we love and know. God has called us for such a time of this Remnant. Don’t stop praying, don’t stop interceding, don’t stop believing. Keep pressing on and walking by faith for those you love and watch and see what our God can and will do. He did it with us, He can do it with them, we just have to keep interceding in prayer. God WILL be glorified, He REALLY will.
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