How to Handle Rejection and Other Hardship

Hello...this is a touchy subject for every person.  I can definitely say there is not a person alive who actually enjoys experiencing rejection.  They may pretend not to care or that it doesn't bother them but we know better.  Being rejected hurts.  It's like being stabbed in the heart for just being yourself.  It makes us question what we ever did wrong, and why people can't just accept us and like us for who we are.  Again, I am going to tell you how I have learned to handle rejection in my own life.  I have felt rejected pretty often lately, as it tends to happen when you begin to put your heart out there more trying to love others.  

I have found that the first place we need to look is to the author and finisher of our faith, Jesus Christ.  He was and is our ultimate role model for victory over circumstance. 

Hebrews 12:2

"looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God."

I have learned to have a new found reverence for the suffering and humiliation of Christ that I have yet to fully comprehend.  This is one of the most heartbreaking verses in the Bible:  

John 1:11

"He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him."

I am reading a book called "Jesus Keep Me Near the Cross" by Nancy Guthrie.  I have not previously known the intricate details of what Jesus experienced on the cross.  I have not known the wonder, the amazing, small details of what a Savior we possess!  What a man of integrity, worthy of everlasting adoration.  I had no clue exactly how intricate and deliberate every action that  led up to Christ being nailed to that cross was.  He gave himself willingly in every sense of the word, never trying to defend himself even though he had every reason to, since he never did anything wrong.  He bit his tongue and never got angry at his treatment.  He never let his love for all of human kind go at any point, never letting his horrible inhumane treatment cause him to become resentful.  He even forgave those who spit in his face, the beautiful face of God.  His own people disgraced him and put him to shame.  How could this be?  It seems so wrong!  His very own people who were anxiously awaiting their Messiah didn't recognize him when he came.  He wasn't the Messiah that they wanted, or that they thought he should be.  He truly was the Messiah.  He was completely unable to lie to them and tell them what they wanted to hear.  He had to tell them the absolute truth (being God he was incapable of lying), and it was this truth that was so hideous to their ears that they had to kill this person who completely uncovered all the evil in their hearts.  


Do you think that when you live the truth as well as speak it, that you are any greater than your master, Jesus Christ, and people will welcome you with open arms as they become convicted of their own sins without you even saying one word?

John 13:16

"Most assuredly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master; nor is he who is sent greater than he who sent him."

No, people are going to reject you and persecute you just like they rejected and persecuted Jesus!  And if they aren't, maybe you better check yourself because maybe you aren't representing the truth of the Gospel passionately enough.  The difference is we aren't perfect like Jesus, so he never deserved it and he was rejected anyway.  How much more should we expect rejection since we are still so far from perfect?  Yet we should be willing to suffer anything and everything for his sake.

Matthew 5:11

“Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake."

I am willing to stand up for my Savior and take the hatred for his sake.  He's worth it.  It's not just because of what I have to gain by doing this, it's my response to him for what has already been done for me!  Lord, help me to always speak the truth boldly and with courage, and never deny you.  

2 Timothy 2:12

 "If we endure,
We shall also reign with Him.
If we deny Him,
He also will deny us."

Romans 1:16

"For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes."

Isaiah 53:3

"He is despised and rejected by men,
A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.
And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him;
He was despised, and we did not esteem Him."

This is an Old Testament prophecy of Jesus and never has there been a bigger truth than this.  We must humble ourselves under the mighty hand of God and stop expecting this life to be easy!  God's own son suffered so greatly for our sake.  If his own son was destined for hardship of such magnitude, ultimately used for good (which lead to him seated at the right of the throne of God), we will go through pain and trials and hardship also. Hardship is ultimately for our own good!  He puts us through trials and hardships to test our faith so it can grow.  He says this repeatedly in his word, yet how conveniently we ignore this, and when we go through hardship we ask, "Why me, Lord?!"  God disciplines and tests those he loves. 

Romans 8:28

"And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose."

1 Peter 1:7

"that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ,"

Your faith WILL be tested!  That is not a maybe.  That's a promise.  Are you going to be surprised when it happens or prepared?  I suggest that we all prepare for it and be ready when it happens and keep taking a look back to the cross, the author and finisher of our faith, Jesus Christ every time we begin to feel overwhelmed with hardship and rejection.  If he suffered and overcame it so can we, because he is our master and lives!  He has already overcome the world.  He is our role model for a victorious life that transcends evil and brings the Lord's kingdom of heaven right here on earth in the very midst of evil and trials and tribulations.  

Psalm 23:5-6

"You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;
You anoint my head with oil;
My cup runs over.
 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
All the days of my life;
And I will dwell in the house of the Lord
Forever."