Overcoming RejectionSample

Fear of Rejection

When it comes to a topic such as rejection, we must ensure that we are speaking within rules and guidelines that allow us to develop the topic in a balanced way. I have struggled with rejection and the key for me has been to not look for acceptance in people, places, or things for a sense of worth. Rather, I have been able to find it in the person of Jesus Christ and the sacrifice he made on the cross for my sins. This gives me courage and a sense of purpose in life.

Part of this reality is that there are still many people looking for acceptance in other people, places or in things they can do to test their abilities or prove their intelligence. This will be an effort that will never give the desired result because people fail, and achievements are temporary. Part of our being carries our spirit that will always hunger and thirst that can only be quenched by its Creator – the Almighty God.

Now, God has created us to live in a world where we have the opportunity to establish relationships with others and this also has its purpose. Although one should not and cannot find perfect acceptance in others, we can experience a satisfying togetherness of being part of a community, just as God intended.

The feeling of rejection is thought to have developed as an evolutionary tool to alert early humans that they were at risk of being excluded from the tribe to which they belonged. A painful rejection from other members of the tribe would likely encourage an individual to modify any problem behavior to avoid further rejection, or ostracism, from the tribe. Those who were able to avoid further rejection were more likely to survive, while those who did not find rejection particularly painful may not have corrected the offending behavior, making them less likely to survive. In this way, humans may have evolved to experience rejection as painful.

Today, many people isolate themselves or refrain from connecting with other people because they are afraid of being rejected. Fear or sensitivity to rejection that causes someone to withdraw from others can lead to chronic feelings of loneliness and depression. While rejection sensitivity can coexist with many mental health problems, including social anxiety, avoidant personality, and borderline personality, it is not an official diagnosis.

God said that it was not good for man to be alone (Genesis 2:18) and Jesus was praying before he got arrested and wanted companionship and fellowship in His suffering (Matthew 26:40).

Allowing ourselves to accept God's opinion of us as fact will ultimately empower us to reject rejection!