Rejecting the Spirit of Rejection

Rejection used to have a tight reign on my soul—and I didn’t even know it. All I knew was that I always felt like there was something wrong with me. I often felt like nobody really cared. And I sometimes felt like people were talking about me behind my back.

Rejection works subtly to destroy your self-esteem and your purpose. Rejection causes you to feel sorry for yourself. Rejection spurs you to reject other people before they have an opportunity to reject you. Rejection wants you to base your worth on what you do instead of who you are in Christ.

There is true rejection, but there is also imagined rejection. Indeed, rejection often works through imaginations. The spirit of rejection can twist your perception of circumstances so it looks and feels like you are being rejected even when you aren’t. In the natural, it’s called a misunderstanding. But if you don’t cast down the imaginations that ride on the back of misunderstandings, the spirit of rejection will work to form a stronghold in your mind that controls your thought patterns and makes it easy for this demon to hold you in bondage.

Whether you are in full-blown bondage to rejection or just have an occasional battle with this spirit, the remedy is the same: Reject rejection and accept your God-given identity.

Praying or Condemning?
I remember a time when I was really beating myself up over something. I was down on my knees virtually whipping myself with self-condemning pseudo prayers. I was just crying out to God over and over about the same weakness, asking Him to forgive me and wondering what was wrong with me. There was nothing really wrong with me. I was just growing in character. But rejection was doing a number on me. And it didn’t help that I had spiritual leaders who used shame as a tool to control the congregation.

Suddenly, in the midst of my self-rejection, I heard a still, small voice that said, “Would you just stop it?!”

That startled me. After all, I was on my knees praying out of my heart to the Father. Why would He want me to stop?

When I stopped, the Holy Spirit said, “How would you like to watch your daughter sit there and beat herself up every morning?”

See, I wasn’t praying. Not really. I wasn’t approaching the throne of grace boldly to receive mercy and find grace in a time of need (Heb. 4:16). Not really. I was merely repeating to God the words rejection had recited to me as if it was gospel truth. I was condemning myself for an innocent matter of immaturity.

As I sat there silently, tears still rolling down my cheeks, the Holy Spirit said, “Go read Ephesians 1:6.”

I have to admit, I didn’t even know what that Scripture said. Not exactly. I knew generally speaking that it had something to do with our redemption in Christ. I got off my sore knees and opened up my Bible. Wouldn’t you know it? Ephesians 1:6 says, “He made us accepted in the Beloved.”

Wow! That changed my whole perspective. God Himself interrupted my self-condemning prayer to let me know that He accepts me with all my faults and all my immaturities. From that point on, I made it my mission to reject rejection and accept my God-given identity.

The Voice of Rejection
When I hear rejection begin to whisper that no one cares—and the spirit of rejection will often take the opportunity to say things like that when you are walking through a fiery trial—I tell that devil something like, “I cast all my cares upon the Lord, for He cares for me” (1 Peter 5:7). And my punch line is always, “I am accepted in the Beloved.”

Chances are, you’ll have to reject rejection more than once, either on the home front, in the workplace, or among friends. Whether real or perceived, rejection doesn’t just give up. If it can’t turn you into a self-pity-toting performer, rejection will puff you up with pride to compensate for your insecurities or lead you to fabricate a protective personality to guard yourself from more rejection. The key to victory over rejection is to reject rejection in whatever form it takes and accept you God-given identity.

When rejection comes whispering to your soul, telling you that something is wrong with you—you aren’t “this” enough, “that” enough or “something else” enough—reject that thought in the name of Jesus. The truth is, you are fearfully and wonderfully made. You are complete in Him Who is the head of all principality and power (Col. 2:10). You are God’s workmanship, created in Christ unto good works (Eph. 2:10). So reject rejection and accept your God-given identity.

Be conscious of your thoughts. Any thought with even the slightest hint of rejection should be immediately cast down and replaced with the truth. The truth is God loves you (Romans 1:7). The truth is you were delivered from the power of darkness and translated into God’s kingdom (Col. 1:13). The truth is you are forgiven of all your sins and washed in the blood (Eph. 1:7). The truth is you are the righteousness of God in Jesus Christ (2 Cor. 5:21). The truth is you are submitted to God and rejection has to flee from you when you resist it (James 4:7).

I could go on and on and on. If you want to keep it really simple, do what I do. When rejection comes whispering, I tell that devil: “I am accepted in the Beloved.” And nothing else matters. Not really. So reject rejection and accept you God-given identity in the name of Jesus! Amen.

Jennifer LeClaire is news editor at Charisma. She is also the author of several books, including Fervent Faith: How a fervent spirit is a defense against the devil. You can e-mail Jennifer at [email protected] or visit her website here.