I Was Rejected

Yes, it's true. I was rejected yesterday. About 10 days ago I went through this whole process to submit a manuscript outline to a magazine, in order for it to be published. I heard back from the associate editor yesterday that they chose not to pursue my idea due to it not fitting their guidelines and preferences. I won't lie, I was bummed, but, I wasn't angry, riddled with feelings of rejection or sudden bouts of unworthiness - and for me, that’s progress. Immediately after I finished reading their response email, I stood up and began to talk to my heavenly Father.

You see, I knew what my flesh was prone to do, from countless past experiences. Thoughts of how dumb it was for me to even submit the article, frustration at where to go from here, anger regarding how they rejected an outline and didn’t request to read the full piece – all of these types of thoughts were easily and readily accessible. But what I chose to do was just the opposite. As I walked around my house, I told the Lord how thankful I was that I am accepted in His eyes. I declared with my mouth that I confidently know that God has given me a gift and ability to write. A truth that I, until recently, always wrote off as pride or self-promotion. The fact is however, that it’s not pride at all. It’s acknowledging what the Father has placed within me. I only have anything worth writing because He is teaching me – because He is speaking to me. Nothing of myself is worth sharing with anyone, it’s He who gets all of the glory, not me. It is He alone that I am promoting.

So after thirty minutes or so of reminding myself that God is in control of opening and closing all doors to opportunities in my life, I moved on. The article is fantastic, I am sure of it. It is absolute truth from God’s Word that He (in times alone with Him in study and prayer) and via the mouths of true Christian friends, has spoken to me. He has told me plainly that I’m here to redefine what Christianity is in a culture where the Gospel has become all about us and religion is nothing but formulas that don’t produce any good fruit. I am fully convinced that He will use me to get this message out and it will come in His time. It’s simply my responsibility to continue this journey. As I go I will stop and peer out through windows and see if I’m to go there. I will pause when He tells me to and pursue what He tells me to pursue – and then I will move on. My goal, my prize, is Him, not earthly “advancement”.

With that being said, I want to encourage you to keep your eyes set on Him. Let nothing, whether it be acceptance or rejection, distract you from keeping your eyes on the Lord. Our gaze must continue to be on Him alone. You are exactly who He created you to be and He loves you just the way you are. May we surrender our everything - good, bad or seemingly meaningless to Him – ALL, my friend is in His hands.