Welcome to our journey into a series we are calling "Healing Fractured Relationships". Together we are seeking the Lord's wisdom and guidance for our relationships: all relationships. Why? Because all relationships matter.

Whoever those people are that matter most to you, that's who we are talking about today and in the weeks to come. And most specifically, we are talking about relationships in our lives that are hurting.

Each week, as we talk about relationships, we will talk about specific tools that can help us. God's Word has truth for us, tools for us, regarding our relationships, especially those that are hurting.

The chances are every single person knows something of today’s topic: REJECTION

If I asked you to call to mind a time when you were rejected…there is probably still an ache associated with that.

But take heart, early on in your Bibles, not far from the very beginning, is one of the most profound cases of rejection in history.

It’s the story of a man named Joseph.

Joseph was one of 12 sons born to Jacob in the Old Testament.

This family is descendant from Abraham, and through them Jesus would ultimately come.

Joseph was #11 of 12, and he was his father’s favorite.

One day his father had sent Joseph to check on his brothers in the fields, and vs 19-20 records their true feelings when they see him coming through the field.

Josephs brothers sell him into slavery and fabricate a lie to tell their father Joseph was killed by a wild animal.

Chapter 37 concludes the rejections scene with one final farewell note.
Verse 36 reads: Meanwhile, the Midianites sold Joseph in Egypt to Potiphar, one of Pharaoh’s officials, the captain of the guard.

Rejected. Sent away unwanted. For Joseph’s brothers, rejection seemed final.

But rejection was not final for Joseph, because man’s rejection, does not equal God’s rejection.

Rejection in your past only has the power you give it over your future.

Rejection strikes at the very core of our created being. And it hurts.

We were created for connection, for relationship, to live with a sense of belonging and rejection cuts deeply into those most basic human longings.

Data that suggests that our brains interpret rejection like we would actual physical pain. Our bodies are hardwired to respond to rejection.

It can cause our minds to fill with negative emotions, like guilt or shame.
It causes an increase in aggression or anger.
From there, it can often spill over into lashing out, seeking revenge.

We don’t choose rejection, Joseph certainly didn’t, but we do have a choice in what we do with those feelings, we have a choice in how we respond.

In fact, what we learn is that God will turn the rejection in our lives into redemption, if we will trust him. We see that all over Joseph’s story.

The Lord was with Joseph. The one who was utterly, bitterly, completely rejected by his brothers- the Lord is with him.

Friends, if you don’t hear anything else today, I want you to stop right here and here this truth: You may be rejected by people here on this broken earth, but your Father in Heaven says “never will I leave you nor forsake you.”

Joseph seems to have come to a place of acceptance. Not accepting of the evil and abusive behavior- that was never ok. But joseph seems to have come to the place of accepting the reality that rejection will come in relationship. It will hurt. It will be confusing, heartbreaking.

But he also knows- man’s rejection doesn’t have the power to define our future. Joseph never equated how his brothers treated him with how God would.

In learning to trust God through rejection, Joseph even found favor while he was in prison. Make no mistake about it- he was in jail. Let’s not lose sight of the difficulty of this rejection journey.

And friends, in our rejection stories and circumstances- Just because it’s rough, even though its hard and it hurts- the Lord is with you. None of those things are a sign of God’s absence.

Mans rejection doesn’t separate us from God.


Through a series of events Joseph is called before the King of Egypt to interpret a dream. The king is so impressed by the favor that God has given Joseph that he puts Joseph in charge of the whole land of Egypt.

He has only to answer to the King himself.

From the pit, to the prison, to the palace- God was with Joseph.

Do you know that there are some who allow the rejection of their past to rule their lives in the present?
- Some allow the FEAR of rejection to prevent them from ever truly living.
- Some continue to give past rejection the power over their present, and they completely miss out on what God has in store for them.

What about you? How are you responding to rejection?

Rejection can be the end, but it doesn’t have to be.

Joseph didn’t allow rejection to define his future- and you don’t have to either.

Past rejection does not have the power define your future-Only God does.

Will you trust Him today with your rejection?