My morning devotions took a turn when I was away recently and did not have my concordance with me. I logged onto Proverbs 31 Ministries which has a daily devotion and was hooked. I also decided to not log onto Facebook in the mornings so I would have more time to devote to spending time in the Word, studying, etc. It has been a blessing for sure.
I like one particular writer on this devotional site (can't recall her name though!) She posted recently about rejection (not being invited to something, being passed over, etc.) She wrote, "The enemy loves to take our rejection and twist it into a raw, irrational fear that God really doesn't have a good plan for us". Ever done that? "So-n-so didn't include me in thus-n-such...I must be worthless, must have done something, can I fix it, what if everyone knows, etcetcetc". Honestly, i can't recall the last time I felt true rejection from something...but I do know the pit of irrational fear. In another post about rejection she wrote, "I assign thoughts to others that they never really actually think. I hold them accountable to harsh judgements they never make. And I own rejection from them they never gave me" and also, "Rejection always wants to steal the best of who I am by reinforcing the worst of what's been said to me", saying that we often "add additional commentary" to situations and "hold someone accountable for words they never said". THAT I know.
The verse she affiliated with her recent post on rejection was Psalm 34:19-"The righteous person may have many troubles, but the Lord delivers him from them all". The KJV says, "Many are the afflictions of the righteous". The root of afflictions in the Hebrew used here="to spoil by breaking to pieces". This I also know.
How many of us have had something as simple as a word or phrase or situation render us broken into pieces? Shattered? Something we've often made into something more than it was intended or needed to be? Or not? True brokenness...the loss of a job, a loved one, financial chaos, that letter in the mail or phone call or email...
And it says that "the righteous" (which I assume are believers) will have many of these! We are not immune to pain or heartache and we (who are believers and are reading this) know this to be so. BUT!!! What a great word to have inserted here! BUT! What's the promise??? "The Lord delivers him from them all". Catch that? ALL! Not some, not a few, but ALL! What a great promise!
The write went on to say that, "If we give (rejection) the power to define us, it will haunt us long term. But if we only allow it enough time to refine us, the hurt will give way to healing". I liked that! I looked up the word "refine" used in the Bible and it is only used in the Old Testament. What it means in the Hebrew? "to fuse". How cool is that? That God can and will take our broken pieces in the face of rejection and FUSE them back together in the process of refining us, in the process of having us learn from the situation and heal. When I read the definition of "refine" I gasped aloud and began to cry...THIS is why I study and mine and dig and aim to learn...not only so I can be changed, encouraged, and (hopefully!) grow, but to pass on to you, dear readers of this humble blog.
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