I used to read this verse and think that it was God telling us (nicely) to stop feeling sorry for ourselves. If we ever feel rejected by people or hated, we should just deal with it, as we aren't the first person to feel like that, and we certainly won't be the last.
But last night, as I was seeking God in the middle of my season of rejection and heartache, I saw it through new eyes. I felt God comfort me as I processed my feelings, by showing me that He understood. He isn't a distant, far away God who looks down his nose at us as we cry out to Him. He feels what we feel. Jesus came to earth and experienced life as a man. Fully God, but also fully man. He felt the same emotions and heartache as we feel. Isaiah 53:3 tells us "He was despised and rejected - a man of sorrow, acquainted with deepest grief. We turned out backs on him and looked the other way. He was despised, and we did not care". Acquainted with deepest grief. Not just sadness...but deep sorrow and grief. So in John 15...God is telling us so beautifully "I understand. I know what it feels for someone to reject you. To turn their back on you. To stop caring. I understand how you feel and I care. Because they did it to me too".
God then also revealed to me that rejection is not a reflection of ourselves. It's easy when you are rejected...when someone breaks up with you, or a friendship ends. When you don't get given a role or a promotion. Or you are the last one picked in a sports team. It's easy for us to lose our sense of value and worth by seeing ourselves through the eyes of rejection. We weren't good enough. Pretty enough. Smart enough. Funny enough. Just...not enough.
But Jesus was enough. He was perfect. He was kind and compassionate and strong and wise. He was Love. And yet He was rejected. His rejection had nothing to do with who He was or his value. Which shows that MY rejection is also not a reflection of my value.
Sometimes things end. Doors close. Relationships break up. We lose a job. I know when this happens I am quick to point the finger of blame back on myself. To carry my rejection as a badge of shame. But it doesn't need to be like that. Many times it is God closing a door to protect us. Or to get us out of a place of comfort and force us into something new He has planned for us. Sometimes we never know the reason. And in the midst of it, it's ok to feel heart broken and sorrow. God is with us, comforting us, hearing us every time we cry out to Him. He understands our pain. But just remember that it isn't a reflection of who you are. They rejected the most perfect man who ever lived. We must learn to see ourselves through God's eyes only. To Him, we are worthy and valuable and loved. It doesn't matter what anyone else thinks. So hold your head up high. Take a deep breathe. Trust in God's plans. Trust in His timing. Trust in His goodness. Trust in his love and compassion. Place your hope in Him. And keep going...your best days are surely ahead.
"I will never forget this awful time, as I grieve over my loss. YET I still dare to hope when I remember this: The faithful love of the Lord NEVER ENDS! His mercies never cease. Great is His faithfulness; His mercies begin afresh each morning. I say to myself "The Lord is my inheritance; therefore I will HOPE IN HIM!". The Lord is good to those who depend on Him, to those who search for Him". Lamentations 3:20-25 NLT
"Be glad about this, even though it may now be necessary for you to be sad for a while because of the many kinds of trials you suffer. Their purpose is to prove that your faith is genuine. Even gold, which can be destroyed, is tested by fire; and so your faith, which is more precious than gold, must also be tested, so that it may endure " 1 Peter 1:6-7
"Jesus overheard and said "Don't be upset. Just trust me and everything will be alright" Luke 8:50-51
