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Rejection. It’s something we all experience at some point. Whether it’s rejection by a teacher, a family member, a significant other, a friend, a college, or a possible employer, rejection happens. And when it does, it can range from a mild inconvenience to emotional and financial devastation.

Rejection is not new. You’d think that we’d be complete pros at it by now – but that’s not so. Rejection can damage our self-worth and ruin our lives …if we let it.

Even in rejection, God is there. We have a God who knows what rejection feels like, who lived through the ultimate rejection. Rejected by friends, followers, and his people, Jesus was put to death on a cross. But God worked through that cross and brought resurrection to Jesus and to all who follow him.

We will experience rejection, but Jesus is the “stone which the builders rejected” and he “has become the cornerstone” (Acts 4:11). With Jesus, the God of rejection and resurrection as our foundation, we too are resurrected after rejection. We have hope in Jesus Christ.

This message is excerpted from “What the Bible says about rejection” by Becca Erlich in the August 2019 Café online magazine. Today is the Fourteenth Sunday after Pentecost.