MOVING FORWARD - pastor mike landry

Nobody likes to be rejected. Consider this example of a lady in our church who received an employment rejection letter from a Public Utilities Company that she never applied to. The Company apparently got her name from the list of references of another person who did apply. I want you to especially notice the last sentence.

Dear Ms W,

We thank you for the interest you have expressed in the General Manager position we advertised. We have received applications from potential candidates who appear to more nearly meet our requirements. We are looking for a strong financial manager from a regulated industry. Finance and accounting experience and education are essential.

If we do not find a suitable candidate to actually employ, we may get back in touch with you, but that seems unlikely at this point.

Cordially, A.N., President

Can you believe it! A rejection letter from a company you never applied to AND being told that you will be considered for the job only if a suitable candidate cannot be found. NOW THAT’S REJECTION.

How is a person to deal with rejection? It’s going to happen many times in your lifetime. You will be rejected. How will you deal with it? Unfortunately, most people let rejection skew their personal measure of their self worth. When that happens, you tend to make “pleasing everybody else” your mantra for life. Talk about pressure. You then set yourself up for major misery.

Let me make another suggestion. Whatever you do, don’t base you self-worth on the opinions of others. It will eventually destroy you. Let you self-worth be based exclusively on your worth in the sight of the One who created you. The Bible very clearly states that you are a person of worth and uniquely designed by God to be productive. In fact, once you enter into a personal relationship with God through His Son, Jesus Christ, it frees you up to live up to your God-given potential. Consider a few of the facts from the Scripture:

• You are accepted by God. Rom 15:7; Eph 1:6; Ps 27:10
• You are valuable to God. Luke 12:24; Isa 43:4
• You are loved by God. Is 54:10; Ps 103:17
• You are a child of God. John 1:12
• You are a friend of God. John 15:15
• You are an heir to what belongs to God. Eph 1:17-18
• You are the light of the world. Matt 5:14
• You are more than a conqueror in Him. Rom 8:37; 2Cor 2:14
• You have the Holy Spirit of God living in you. Acts 1:8; 1 Cor 6:19
• You are God’s handiwork. Eph 2:10
• You have the mind of Christ. 1Cor 2:16
• You are a partaker of the Divine nature. 2Pet 1:4
• You have been chosen of God to represent Him. John 15:16; 2 Cor 5:20
• You are an expression of the life of Christ. Col 3:4

You are SOMEBODY. This doesn’t change just because you experience rejection.

The next time you experience rejection, remind yourself who you are in Christ. Then respond to your rejection by refusing to assume the role of a rejecter yourself and embrace God’s agenda for your life….which includes serving others in spite of their rejection. Try it and see how God begins to heal the wound caused by rejection.

If interested in more, listen to the message I delivered to the Sarasota Baptist Church on May 24, 2009 entitled “Getting Off the Road Called Rejection”.

Labels: jobs, rejection, self-worth