An Angry Rejection
By Dena J. Dyer

Keep building relationships, and initiating new ones, even when people reject you. Most of all, keep praying, and keep encouraging one another.

Rejection-we've all experienced it. Sometimes it seems to roll off our backs, and other times it feels as if a knife just pierced our vital organs.

Maybe you've been rejected by a friend, co-worker, or even a family member. As a freelance writer, I experience rejection on a weekly (if not daily!) basis.

Major discouragement set in for me not long ago when three of my favorite publishers rejected my non-fiction book proposal in one week. Two out of the 3 editors said it wasn't "strong enough" to compete in the "already flooded market." (Ouch!)

But then God gave me a gift -- a passage from Eugene Peterson's "The Message," just when I needed it.

I read this, from I Thessalonians 5:

"God didn't set us up for an angry rejection but for salvation by our Master, Jesus Christ . . . So speak [or write!] encouraging words to one another. Build up hope, so you'll all be together in this . . . Be cheerful no matter what; pray all the time; thank God no matter what happens . . .The One who called you is completely dependable. If He said it, He'll do it!"

So, dear friends, keep following Christ -- even when it hurts. Keep building relationships, and initiating new ones, even when people reject you. Most of all, keep praying, and keep encouraging one another.

God is up to great things behind the scenes. And guess what? He's the only person we need to please.

Lord, help me remember that You never reject me. Thank you for even the rejection I feel at times, for it reminds me that You are the only person whose opinion ultimately matters.

Copyright 2002, by Dena J. Dyer. Used by permission.

cbn