Let’s talk about rejection. How many times have you experienced really liking a guy, or even loving one, and he rejects you? You cried, maybe even begged, but still he wouldn’t budge. I have experienced this way too many times. I mean really, once is more than enough, but on my quest for love, after one rejection I just continued running forward, heartbreak after heartbreak.
Dozens of crushed hopes later, at the age of 18, I finally decided I had enough. Instead of crying over a boy, I cried out to a Man— thee Man.
I knew about Jesus; the son of God who died on the cross for the sins of the world. But, I did not know Jesus. One thing I did, however, that I could cry out to Him. And that’s what I did.
“Natasha, did He answer you?”
So overjoyed that you would ask. Of course He did.
“May the Lord answer you in the day of trouble;
May the name of the God of Jacob defend you;
2 May He send you help from the sanctuary,
And strengthen you out of Zion;
3 May He remember all your offerings,
And accept your burnt sacrifice. Selah4 May He grant you according to your heart’s desire,
And fulfill all your purpose.
5 We will rejoice in your salvation,
And in the name of our God we will set up our banners!
May the Lord fulfill all your petitions.6 Now I know that the Lord saves His anointed;
He will answer him from His holy heaven
With the saving strength of His right hand.7 Some trust in chariots, and some in horses;
But we will remember the name of the Lord our God.
8 They have bowed down and fallen;
But we have risen and stand upright.9 Save, Lord!
May the King answer us when we call.” -Psalm 20
Do you know that when I was twelve I asked Jesus to forgive my sins, and come into my heart? But after He did, I ignored Him and chased after every boy I found attractive—and it wouldn’t be until more than six years later that I finally look to Him for my need to be loved. Talk about feeling rejected.
No one on this planet has been rejected more than Jesus has. We’re talking billions of people rejecting His plan for their life. [Maybe dying for that plan wasn't enough].
Next time you are, or feel rejected, think about Jesus hanging on a rugged wooden cross with bleeding gaping holes in his hands and feet, ribbons of flash hanging off his back, a crown of thorns piercing his head, and the people He’s dying for standing before Him mocking and spitting at Him while He’s begging His Father to forgive them.
Check out this prophecy written by the prophet Isaiah about 650 years before Jesus hung on the cross:
“Who has believed our message?
To whom has the Lord revealed his powerful arm?
2 My servant grew up in the Lord’s presence like a tender green shoot,
like a root in dry ground.
There was nothing beautiful or majestic about his appearance,
nothing to attract us to him.
3 He was despised and rejected—
a man of sorrows, acquainted with deepest grief.
We turned our backs on him and looked the other way.
He was despised, and we did not care.4 Yet it was our weaknesses he carried;
it was our sorrows that weighed him down.
And we thought his troubles were a punishment from God,
a punishment for his own sins!
5 But he was pierced for our rebellion,
crushed for our sins.
He was beaten so we could be whole.
He was whipped so we could be healed.
6 All of us, like sheep, have strayed away.
We have left God’s paths to follow our own.
Yet the Lord laid on him
the sins of us all.7 He was oppressed and treated harshly,
yet he never said a word.
He was led like a lamb to the slaughter.
And as a sheep is silent before the shearers,
he did not open his mouth.
8 Unjustly condemned,
he was led away.
No one cared that he died without descendants,
that his life was cut short in midstream.
But he was struck down
for the rebellion of my people.
9 He had done no wrong
and had never deceived anyone.
But he was buried like a criminal;
he was put in a rich man’s grave.10 But it was the Lord’s good plan to crush him
and cause him grief.
Yet when his life is made an offering for sin,
he will have many descendants.
He will enjoy a long life,
and the Lord’s good plan will prosper in his hands.
11 When he sees all that is accomplished by his anguish,
he will be satisfied.
And because of his experience,
my righteous servant will make it possible
for many to be counted righteous,
for he will bear all their sins.
12 I will give him the honors of a victorious soldier,
because he exposed himself to death.
He was counted among the rebels.
He bore the sins of many and interceded for rebels.”-Isaiah 53
Trust me princess, Jesus knows how it feels to be rejected, hated, abused, and made fun of. When He walked this earth He was well acquainted with grief and suffering. But He conquered all the pain in this world when He rose up from the grave and defeated death. This incredible Son of God stands with arms open wide desiring you. I pray you stop rejecting Him and instead, run to Him.
Ladies, please know your worth.
with love,
Natasha
