Are You the One?

    

Matt 11:1-6

 

11 Now it came to pass, when Jesus finished commanding His twelve disciples, that He departed from there to teach and to preach in their cities.

2 And when John had heard in prison about the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples 3 and said to Him, "Are You the Coming One, or do we look for another?"

4 Jesus answered and said to them, "Go and tell John the things which you hear and see:  5 The blind see and the lame walk; the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear; the dead are raised up and the poor have the gospel preached to them.  6 And blessed is he who is not offended because of Me."

NKJV

 

What?!  Offended with Jesus? Offended with the Almighty?  Does that really happen?  You betcha! It happened to Bible greats such as Elijah and John the Baptist,  and happens today to everyday Joe's and Jane's like you and me.

In this passage John the Baptist, the faithful forerunner of Christ, is wasting away in prison.  After spending years preaching, "Repent for the Kingdom of God is at hand," John is forced into premature retirement.  The one he heralded; the One he proclaimed,  has rose up in power, just as he predicted.  So where did that leave John the Baptist?  Sitting in jail, possibly questioning his life's work.  All of a sudden, he is no longer sure.  Needing affirmation, he sent some disciples to ask, in essence, "Are you the One I have been waiting for?"

Don't forget that previously John the Baptist himself had pronounced these powerful words:   "Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!"  (John 1:29)  Where had his confidence gone?  Why is he now doubting when Jesus' ministry was growing exponentially?

Jesus said that there was no greater man than John the Baptist, but here he is- unsure, discouraged, and possibly feeling cast aside.  How can a person go from one extreme to the other?  Very easily.  Very easily indeed.

When we are operating in a powerful anointing, it is easy to speak boldly in the Spirit.  But afterward, when we are feeling like "plain 'ol us", we can struggle with self-doubt and confusion.  Maybe even disillusionment with God. 

I am not sure what John the Baptist expected, but if I were him, maybe I would have thought after a life of sacrifice, maybe Jesus would work a miracle on my behalf. Maybe it was hard to understand why the Lord had not protected him. And for those of us familiar with the rest of the story, we know the plot does not improve for John.  He is later beheaded and made a door prize for a dancing little girl.

What, then, is the moral to this story? Faithfulness to God is not about outcome, but rather, obedience.  All we can do is fulfill our duty and trust God that it will turn out in a way that furthers His Kingdom and is for our good.  That does not mean everything will be good.  It just means that it will ultimately turn out for our good. 

The ending of John the Baptist's life can almost seem like a tragic movie.  The hero dies at the end, and the curtains close.  You leave the theater undone and saddened, but deeply moved. But what is going on here is so much greater, so much more universal and eternal than we will ever perceive.  I have no doubt in my mind that the minute the sword severed John's head, that he was immediately ushered into the presence of God with much fanfare.  A true hero's welcome.  No more to doubt or feel alone.  Then his focus was clear as a bell.

I don't know what you are going through today.  I can only speak to what I feel the Word of God speaks to us.  No matter how lonely and misunderstood you feel, God sees you, He cares and He has not forgotten.  You will walk in your destiny if you will just hold on and obey to the end.  The outcome and reward may not be evident here, but rest assured, in eternity it will be worth it all!

Dear Lord, I need to see life through Your perspective.  Forgive me for times I doubt and harbor offense with Your plan and ways.  I submit to follow you, come what may.  In Jesus' Name.  Amen.

Never Rejected

Never Rejected    

Ps 27:9-10

 

9 Do not hide Your face from me;

Do not turn Your servant away in anger;

You have been my help;

Do not leave me nor forsake me,

O God of my salvation.

10 When my father and my mother forsake me,

Then the Lord  will take care of me.

NKJV

 

Of all of the human relational experiences, I believe rejection is one of the most painful.  We have all experienced the sting of rejection- feeling like we are not good enough, not accepted, not wanted.  Since one of our greatest emotional needs is to feel loved and accepted, the pain of rejection can cut deeply, into our very hearts.

We can be rejected for lots of reasons and by lots of different people.  But we can always take comfort in knowing that even if everyone turns us away- even our own father or mother- God will take us up.  The Creator of the universe loves and values us.  He has a plan for us and He purposely seeks us out for His own.  He never gives up on us.  His heart toward us is only ever good and loving.  Even when we mess up - big time- He is still there.  Never saying, "That's it, I'm done with him/her."  There is such liberty in knowing how God sees us.

In childhood we looked to our parents and family to affirm us as people and to make us feel special and "OK".  When we fail to get that, it can leave a pretty large vacuum in our hearts.  Thankfully, the Spirit of God can go back through the portals of time and heal those deeps wounds.  We serve such a loving Father!  When we lose at love, are passed over for promotion on the job or are never invited into a clique of friends, He is still there with loving arms of acceptance, fondness and love.

Dear Lord, please comfort and help all of those suffering with rejection issues.  Please help us to find our identity in You and in Your acceptance.

In Jesus' Name.  Amen.

Sherri

 

Victory Over Rejection

 

    

 

    

1 Sam 17:28

 

"Now Eliab his oldest brother heard when he spoke to the men; and Eliab's anger was aroused against David, and he said, "Why did you come down here? And with whom have you left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know your pride and the insolence of your heart, for you have come down to see the battle."

NKJV

 

We all have heard the epic tale about how David, a young shepherd boy, slew Goliath, the giant warrior.  But the lesser known story is about the "bratty shepherd brother turned King".  In other words, prior to greatness, David dealt with a whole lot of minimizing.  When Samuel the Prophet came to his home to anoint a king, his father overlooked him and did not even call him in from the field to be considered. 

 

In the passage above, we see the pep talk that he received from what should have been his closest supporters- his family.  But as you can see David's oldest brother Eliab, saw him as a nuisance that rubbed him the wrong way.  When David tried to assess why Goliath was left to taunt the Israelites, David was reminded about his station in life: "With whom have you left those few sheep...?"  Talk about a put down!  He was reminded that he was only a shepherd.  And only a small-time shepherd with a few sheep.  When the big boys, the serious men of battle were talking about the enemy, David was made a fool of for even trying to assess the situation.

 

The remarkable part of this story is that David was not moved by his nay-sayers.  They never saw merit in him. Oh, well!  Still his zeal for God arose. If you read this account in full, you will see that NO ONE thought he had anything of value to offer the situation.  His oldest brother tried to shut him up.  The next people he talked to replied in the same manner.  Undaunted, he was taken to the king.  Finally!  He was being taken seriously.  Not so!  Observe King Saul's reply:   

 

33 And Saul said to David, "You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him; for you are a youth, and he a man of war from his youth."  (1 Sam 17:33)

 

His father did not regard him as valuable.  His brothers diminished him, and even the king told him he had nothing to offer.  And still David continued to stand in his confidence of what God could do through him.  When he finally came before his enemy, dressed simply and toting a sling shot, his enemy taunted him across the field:

 

    

So the Philistine said to David, "Am I a dog, that you come to me with sticks?" And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. 44 And the Philistine said to David, "Come to me, and I will give your flesh to the birds of the air and the beasts of the field!" (v. 43-44)

 

Have you spent your entire life feeling rejected, put down and overlooked?  Take heart! God sees you and your worth is defined by Him.  He alone knows the germ of greatness that he has planted inside of you!  He knows what He can accomplish through you!  The job He has called you to is greater than you are- but not greater than He is within you! 

 

What people speak over us, as well as their attitudes toward us, can cause us to struggle with low self-esteem and a sense of being rejected.  Those experiences and attitudes can be difficult to overcome.  But if we allow it, God can use it to  garner our God-confidence despite all of the obstacles that we face. After today's story David did not immediately rise to greatness.  Once he began to prove his worth, rather than being heralded a hero by the king, he found himself a target for the king's spear.  While he was playing music for the king's enjoyment and relief!

 

The road to destiny and greatness is often paved with rejection, ridicule and resistance.  Hold tight to what the Lord has promised you. He alone knows how the story ends!

 

Dear Lord, today I pray for the rejected, the outcast and the abused.  Help them to rise above the lies of their enemies, and hear instead, Your voice.  Your voice that speaks confirmation, affirmation and faith to their heart.  Arise O God, and let our enemies be scattered!  In Jesus' Name.  Amen.

 

 

 

 

Rejected...But Not Abandoned

 

 

"For this is the message you have heard from the beginning:  You should love one another. Do not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and murdered his brother.  And why did he murder him?  Because his own actions were evil and his brother's righteous.  Do not be surprised, my brothers and sisters, if the world hates you."  I John 3:13

We all want to be loved.  No healthy person has a fervent desire to be loathed and hated.  We are all built with an innate desire to be loved and accepted.  In fact, we feel this way so strongly, that one of the most hurtful things we will experience in life, is being rejected.

People who are rejected by parents, grandparents, siblings, teachers, spouses, etc., often struggle with low self-esteem and emotional pain. We want to be liked from childhood on up.  Our desire to be loved and accepted causes us to respond to parental disapproval and discipline.  We want Mama and Daddy to smile at us, so we endure the dreaded broccoli and share our  toys.  As we age, the same desire to please remains.  And to some extent, this desire is a positive thing.

So when does it pose a problem?  Our desire to please becomes a problem when we must do it at the expense of obeying God or being true to ourselves.  There is nothing noble about pleasing someone else when it leaves you feeling cheap and dirty. There is something wrong with making someone else happy at the expense of our conscious.  So what do we do when we try our best and others hate or dislike us?

We have to give the hurt of rejection over to God.  Jesus fully understands what it is like to be rejected, misunderstood and betrayed.  He was given over to be murdered by one of his closest (and chosen) companions.  He did nothing wrong but he was despised, ridiculed and murdered.  If we follow in his footsteps, we are likely to experience similar problems.

Early in my adult life, I had a couple of friends misunderstand and judge me.   In that instance (though certainly not always) my heart was motivated by pure intentions, but I was being accused of doing it from a "look at me" attitude.  I remember laying in the altar at church telling the Lord, "They hate me and I have not done anything wrong."  If I have ever heard the Lord, I heard him say, "They hated me, too, and they killed me... Let my approval of you be enough."

Wow.  I was so humbled by that, that I cried out in repentance.  Who am I to whine because a couple of ladies disliked me, when the sinless Lamb of God- King of the Universe- was slain?

The pain and sting of rejection will always be there, but the Lord can give us the grace to walk though it without sinning, if we just turn to him for help.

Dear Lord, forgive me for making it about me.  Help me to be concerned with your approval and not that of the world.  Help me to develop tunnel vision.  In Jesus' Name.  Amen.

Sherri