03.22.21—Rejection-- Judges 11:1-2
My friend, may I ask you a question? Is it natural result of being unfair on our own that would often cause the sting of rejection to come into our lives?
My friend, life’s a story, welcome to This Passing Day.
I’m M. Clifford Brunner
When you were a kid do you remember the times that you didn’t play fair? You know, the times when you subjected one of your friends to a nasty prank or were just plain rude for no reason to someone who trusted you and cared about you. When we played unfairly, the results of our unjust behavior was usually this--rejection by those we hurt. Sometimes that rejection came from individuals that were our best friends. Simply, it was a natural result of being unfair on our own that would often cause the sting of rejection to come into our lives.
Being rejected when we deserved it was one thing. But, what about those times when we suffered rejection, blindsided, so to speak, and we just had no clue as to the “why’s” and the “how-comes”? You know, that day when your best friend wouldn’t talk to you and you hadn’t a clue. Those were the worst times because we simply had no clue as to how to fix things. How is a Christian to react to those kinds of “unfair” rejection?
In 1858 the Illinois legislature sent Stephen A. Douglas to the U.S. Senate instead of Abraham Lincoln, although Lincoln had won the popular vote. (In those days the Illinois legislature elected its federal senators and not the voters.) The future president was stunned by the outcome but took it seemingly in stride. All of Lincoln's plans for the future and for his family had been riding on that election. When a sympathetic friend asked Lincoln how he felt, he said, “Like the boy who stubbed his toe: I am too big to cry and too badly hurt to laugh.” (Max Lucado, God Came Near, Multnomah Press, 1987, p. 57.)
Life is full of the unfair and the unjust. Unfortunately, when we dwell on what went wrong, what unfairly happened to us, we always risk the possibility that we might miss the opportunities that usually follow a rejecting defeat. Although Douglas seemed the winner in that 1858 election, he went on to obscurity and Lincoln went on to the presidency only two years later. Being unfairly rejected by those we loved and trusted is a bitter pill to swallow. But, if we are willing to swallow it, we can trust that God will turn that hurt into our favor somewhere down the road. It’s just a matter of time.
We pray. Heavenly Father. Life is full of the unfair and the unjust. So often we go through hurtful things in our lives that there just simply seems no explanation for? That’s when the hurt and the disbelief begin. Unfortunately, when we dwell on what went wrong, what unfairly happened to us, we always risk the possibility that we might miss the opportunities that usually follow a rejecting defeat. Forgive us when we are so focused on our own feelings that we forget that You have a purpose for everything in our lives. Being unfairly rejected by those we loved and trusted is a bitter pill to swallow. But, if we are willing to swallow it, we can trust that You will turn that hurt into our favor somewhere down the road. It’s just a matter of time. Grant us the patience to wait upon You and discover the comfort that You always put in our lives when bad things happen. We pray this in Jesus name. Amen!
Therefore my friend, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry for itself; each day has enough trouble of its own. (Matt 6:34) This Passing Day. May this passing day honor our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and be a blessing to you and everyone you meet. Find a stranger and say hello. Don't let another day pass without your day blessing someone else.
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<thispassingday@gmail.com> From Beech Springs, God bless you for Jesus sake.