I am NOT rejected!

I love it when you read a quote from someone, and they articulate something into language, that completely describes what you have known in your heart, but couldn't find the words to explain. 

This week I read this quote from Todd White, "Once you realise you are ACCEPTED in the beloved, you'll never feel rejection by people. Why? Because nobody on this planet can ever take away what they didn't give you".

WOW! Selah - pause and think about that. Now read the quote again.

Have you ever felt rejected? Betrayed? Used? Have you ever felt like you're not good enough? Not wanted? Or squashed down because the ones who should accept you, decide they don't want to? Life happens to us all, people can change, they can let us down, and, make accusations to cover their own wrongdoings and keep up appearances.

I was thinking about my life, and times when the world may look at me and label me, "rejected". I've also been looking into my heart and wondering why, although I've experienced great pain, abuse and betrayal, why in it, I have never actually felt rejected? Don't get me wrong, I am not trying to pretend things haven't happened to us all, or make light of the pain of our experiences, but when we live a life trusting God, it's normal for Christians to go through the fire without being burnt, because we have the power of the Holy Spirit in us. And so, our lives should look and feel very different to the world.

Thanks to Todd White and his revelation of God's Word, this week, I answered my own question. "Why in the greatest rejection, did I not feel rejected?"

It's because I KNOW who I am and where my ACCEPTANCE comes from :-)

Rejection is not from God. It's from the enemy. The devil is the only one who is rejected! He is cut off. Under our feet. He is defeated and powerless. The thing is, he knows he is rejected and because his plan is to to kill, steal and destroy us, he wants to speak his mindset into our lives and allow us to believe the lie that we are rejected too.

If you believe you are rejected, you are believing a lie! I'm not talking about feeling like you are rejected, that's different. Feelings come and go. Feelings are not fact. Feelings are a direct result of our thought life.

But, as Todd says, if we realise we are ACCEPTED by God, and HE IS THE ONE WHO GIVES US ACCEPTANCE, TOTAL ACCEPTANCE, then nobody on the planet can ever take away what they never gave us.

I guess I'm trying to say that despite what happens to me in life, I can't be rejected by people, because it is God who gives me my acceptance. He accepts me totally, the good, the bad and the ugly. His love for me is unconditional and eternal.

I'm NOT rejected, I AM accepted! Haha, the enemy is such a looser, he can try to destroy, but, if our lives are rooted firmly in the mighty power of Jesus Christ, that pathetic looser of a devil can NEVER do any permanent damage in our lives. If we would audaciously walk in what God has done FOR US, and not be defined by what has happened to us, oh how our lives, families and churches would live differently!!!

I've seen too much of God's power at work in my own life not to be bold enough to walk in complete victory, wholeness and freedom :-) Rubbish still happens, but it does not define me. I don't take ownership of it. It does NOT change my identity, but rather it draws me closer to my Redeemer and brings me through the fire, pure as GOLD! :-)

I am NOT rejected, and neither are YOU!!! :-)

Choose forgiveness

To be honest, I could write a whole book on forgiveness! But I wanted to share just some brief thoughts. It's such a huge topic, it affects everyone from all the cultures and countries across the globe and I'm sure most of us have learnt about forgiveness the hard way. Forgiveness is not an easy road to take, but it is absolutely vital to the health and well being of the core of who we are.

Forgiveness is a journey, not a one off event! 

When we say we forgive them it does not make us immune to the pain of what happened. If you have been abused, betrayed or exploited, there is a journey of recovery that leads to restoration. Forgiving does not get rid of the memory, the pain or the past, but it does POSITION us to deal with it from a place of victory and wholeness. We can say, "oh last year I forgave them for what they did to me", but how do we feel about them now? Did we forgive them that one time and then go back to resenting them and being bitter, or do we choose to continually forgive? When feelings of hurt and pain come into our lives, do we forgive? Or is it ok to harbour bitterness because, after all, they don't deserve my total forgiveness, right? Um, no wrong! Just because we forgave back then, doesn't mean we don't have to forgive now. Feelings, flashbacks, memories come in waves and we need to learn to continue to forgive along the journey of our lives.

Forgiveness is a choice!

Like I said before, it's not a one off event, it's a daily choice, moment by moment choosing to forgive and let go. Sometimes we have to choose it minute by minute. It can be a hard choice to make. We can sometimes feel that if we forgive, there is no justice in our situation. It almost feels like if we forgive we are telling them that what they did was ok. This is such a lie. Forgiveness is not even about them, it's about US, you and me! It's about setting ourselves free from what they did to us, it's about not being a prisoner and slave to resentment. Forgiveness is not something we do for other people, it's something we do for ourselves. When I choose to forgive, as much as I would love to get rid of the memory, I am actually choosing to free myself from bitterness and enabling myself to live healthy, happy and whole.

Forgiveness is a command!

The words of Jesus in the Gospel of Mark pretty much say it all :-)

“Have faith in God,” Jesus answered. “Truly I tell you, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in their heart but believes that what they say will happen, it will be done for them. Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive them, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins. ” (Mark 11:22-25 NIV)

Forgiveness is not waiting for an apology! 

You may never get one. There are some people who will never apologise and we need to release then to God and allow God to heal us. At the end of the day we are all responsible for our own actions and one day we will give account to God. It is not our job to demand an apology, or to withhold forgiveness until we get an apology. Some people can be so evil, or so decieved that they refuse to apologise for the pain they cause. That's ok. We are living for something way bigger than their apology. I don't know about you but I'm living to bring Glory to my God, and if someone else can't apologise for being dishonourable, that is their problem, not mine. Learning to forgive, without an apology, is a painful road to walk, but I've learnt that the more pain we suffer, the more purpose, potential and freedom we find. Stay on track, trust God, allow His grace to cover you and sustain you. When you receive all the love you need from Him, you will get to a place where you are content to forgive, move on, restore, with or without an apology.

Forgiveness is necessary for a healthy spirit, soul and body!

Studies have shown that people who harbour unforgiveness are more at risk of heart disease, anxiety, depression and other health issues. I've heard it said that harbouring unforgiveness is like taking poison but expecting someone else to die. The person it will affect is you, not them. So lets do ourselves a favour, and choose to forgive. God has a hope and a future for us and He desires that we run towards our future with arms open wide. If we are carrying around bitterness and resentment, we are weighed down and we won't be able to take hold of the full abundant life that is readily available to us. Lets choose to forgive, let go and move forward. When I choose to forgive, I make a conscious and deliberate decision to release feelings of resentment to anyone who has hurt me.

Forgiveness is not trusting!

Some people are never to be trusted again, choosing not to trust them does not mean you haven't forgiven them. You can forgive, yet choose not to go back to the same kind of relationship you had with that person before.

Forgiveness is not bottling up our feelings and believing the lie that if we feel a certain way it means we haven't totally forgiven! 

No, when you have been hurt, mistreated, exploited, there is a process of recovery that must take place (that's a whole book in itself). Those feelings need to be worked through and healed. Just because you are experiencing pain and brokenness from the trauma you have faced, it does not mean you have not forgiven. Don't be so hard on yourself. It takes time to recover, but rather than speed up the process, I encourage you to embrace it and learn all you can from it. Restoration is a process. It is the journey of recovery that leads to restoration. Only those who have walked its paths will understand it, so don't be concerned if some people don't get it, or don't walk with you. God is the God of restoration and He can supernaturally restore our lives. But, I have found that as we journey with Him, on what can be a painful and lonely road of recovery and rebuilding, the results at the end are so worth it.

It's not easy, but you can do it!

So often we try to do things in our own strength. The more I journey through life, the more I realise how weak I truly am. But the beautiful thing I have learnt is that in my weakness, He (God) is strong. So even though I am weak and can't do this on my own, with God by my side, I am able to forgive and move forward into victory. The Bible says in John that Greater is He (Jesus) that's living in me, than he that is in the world. I choose to believe the voice of truth, to be ok with feeling weak, but to allow His strength to be my strength. 

Forgiveness means praying for those who have persecuted you and done harm to you! 

"But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,"(Matthew 5:44 NIV)

This is a tough one. But I've come to realise that I'm not praying for them for their sake, but for my sake. When I pray for someone I see them through the eyes of Jesus. When I pray for them I realise they are a human being in need of a Saviour. A Saviour to deliver them from their life of sin and destruction. When we pray for those who persecute us, it reminds us who are real enemy is. To be honest, people can be so evil and do things to try and destroy us, but at the end of the day, it is the devil who is our enemy. He is the one who has an assignment to destroy us and wipe us out, and the sad thing is, he will use people to do just that. But, people aren't our enemy. The devil is. The Bible tells us that "our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms". (Ephesians 6:12 NIV)

The great thing is that if you live a life surrendered to God, the devil is under your feet. Jesus has the victory and no power of hell or scheme of any many can ever pluck you from God's hand.

The devil wants us walking around harbouring unforgiveness, being bitter about our past, about the abuse, about those who betrayed us. I don't know about you but I want to live my life bringing Glory to my God and squashing the enemy under my feet. So, I choose to forgive, I choose to let go, I choose to be strong, I choose to recover, I choose restoration, I choose forgiveness, I choose joy, I choose healing, I choose laughter. I choose to live a big life, to rise above everything that was sent to destroy me.

Forgiveness is one of the greatest things we can do for ourselves. I pray that this week, whatever you are facing in life, that you would choose to forgive, let go of the past and run towards your future with arms wide open :-) xxx