In my youth, I was indeed a misfit who didn't fit in with the "in crowd"
and
wasn't cool for various reasons. I was also a unique misfit because not
only
was I considered a nerd due to my constant reading and good grades but I
was
also a jock at the same time playing football, basketball and baseball
while
in my spare time, I worked at power-lifting. Growing up in a very small
town
and not fitting in made me quite isolated and I was rejected a lot. That
left a lot of emotional scarring that I am still dealing with today.
However, thanks to God, it's getting better each and every day. I admit
that
sometimes I still exhibit a poor self-image and get the blues over it.
Usually in those instances, I go immediately to prayer for guidance and
sup****t. I read the following advice from Dr. Charles Stanley over this
and
was pleasantly surprised that I was already doing much of what he suggests
and I also reaffirmed some relational points which are also raised in the
article. I hope that this might help you as well.
--
May God bless,
Carl
my website -- http://www.nettally.com/saints/
my blog -- http://www.anniemayhem.com/cgi-bin/wordpress/
---
Responding To Rejection
by Charles F. Stanley
How are you to respond when you experience times of rejection? Should you
curl up in a dark corner and engage in self-pity? Will you withdraw from
life completely and disown the people who love and accept you? No!
You are to do three specific things when you feel an intense need to
belong.
1. Believe what God says about you.
Through the years, I have had a number of divorced or widowed people say
to
me, "I feel like a nobody." My response to them is, "That's not what God
says about you."
God says you are a somebody. You are so special and valuable to Him that
He
sent His Son to die for your sins, and He made it possible for the Holy
Spirit to come and dwell within you. He did that to remind you on a daily
basis that you are valuable beyond measure in His eyes.
"But I feel so all alone in the world," someone might say.
You aren't alone, because God is with you. He has promised to stay right
by
your side, regardless of what happens to you. Even if everybody you know
has
rejected you, God will not leave you. Be assured that you are forgiven and
a
full-fledged member of God's family. In Christ, we are His children, never
to be denied, rejected, or turned away from His presence.
2. Seek God's acceptance first.
Divorce is devastating because it destroys a person's sense of belonging.
It
creates an even greater need to belong, a need that isn't felt as keenly
or
as deeply when a person is happily married.
A woman whose husband had recently divorced her confessed to me, "I don't
feel as if I belong anyplace anymore. My life has been ripped apart. What
can I do?"
"Go to Christ," I said. "Trust the Lord to be the One who provides for
you.
He alone can give you identity and supply comfort in your loneliness. Do
everything obediently in service to Him, trusting Him to direct your path.
Know that He will shelter you from evil, uphold you, and provide daily
guidance. Depend on Him with your entire being, and surrender completely
to
His will."
Is God's acceptance of you more im****tant than acceptance by other people?
You have been given the ability and prerogative to ignore God, continue on
your own way, and rebel against His desire enjoy a growing relation****p
with
you. But why not spend time in His Word to see the deep, unconditional
love
He has for you? Why not give in and yield to His compassionate, fatherly
embrace?
3. Recognize that God will never reject you.
Perhaps you are afraid that you might one day lose God's acceptance and
love. Nothing, my friend-absolutely nothing-can destroy your standing in
Christ or diminish the love He extends to you. Not now, not ever.
When my grandson was very young, the first thing he would do when he came
to
my house was demand to sit on my lap. He had a sense-rightly so-that there
was no other person I would rather have been with in that moment.
Friend, that's the way God feels about you and me. He delights in being
with
us. He holds us tenderly. And there is no other person in the world He
would
rather be with. The amazing truth about our infinite God is that He is
capable of expressing to us all His love and attention. In our finite
minds,
we can not grasp that. But in God's great and infinite love, He can
completely meet my need for belonging, just as surely as He can fully meet
yours.
When you feel as if you don't belong, come to God with a desire to sit for
a
while in His presence. Come with a willingness to be held, like a child,
in
His everlasting arms. Allow yourself to relax. You are 100 percent welcome
there. The Father longs for you to be with Him.
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