Don’t Take It Personally

As Samuel entered his elder years as a judge over Israel, the people looked around at who would take his place.  Sadly, Samuel’s sons were dishonest men who were not qualified to serve as judges. Looking at the ways of the nations surrounding them, Israel’s elders asked Samuel to appoint a king over them. After serving God and Israel faithfully as a prophet and judge for decades, Samuel was dejected by their request. 

When he carried this request forward, God reminded Samuel it was not he who was being rejected, but God Himself. Samuel and the preceding judges may have provided human leadership, but it was God who was Israel’s true head. Even with God’s words of comfort and clarification, Samuel’s comments at Saul’s coronation (1 Samuel 12:1-5) revealed the prophet’s continued feelings of rejection.

Like Samuel, we all experience rejection. We devote ourselves to a person, an organization, even a body of other disciples, only to be cast aside. Family, friends or colleagues may shy away because of our stand for godly issues. If we live for and walk with God, we may face rejection. But it is not us who is being rejected, but the God whom we serve. When we are immersed in Kingdom work, we can forget who is in charge really, God. It is not about us when our work receives accolades; neither is it about us when others reject godly actions and messages.

Rejection never feels good. We learn to minimize the pain of rejection by not taking it personally, even if it is intended to be personal. Carry the feelings of hurt and rejection to God, just learn the lesson from Samuel and leave them with God. 1 Thessalonians 4:7-8 reminds us that God called us to holiness, and those who reject such holiness are not rejecting man, but the God of holiness. When given the choice, it is always better to be rejected by man, than rejected by God.