Rejecting Rejection
We’ve all felt snubbed at some point. The lively discussion the other person refused to pick up, leaving the conversation flat. The skipped introduction, where you’re not woven into the group, and the talking continues as if you weren’t there. The tightening circle, where the group slowly and physically boxes you out, leaving you outside looking in. There’s the uninterested eye pass, where even though they’re engaging in conversation with you, their gaze is floating over the room for another opportunity or person. The inside joke that no one bothers to explain, leaving you out of the conversation. Or the I’ve-got-to-run where mid-laugh or mid-smile, they rush off with some excuse, only to walk to the next group and continue talking.
Rejection hurts. It’s a survival instinct to stay with the pack. Those exiled were less likely to prevail against the elements and attacks. Even Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 supports this. Verse 12 says, “Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.” We desire acceptance, so we’ll fret about how others perceive us. We’ll silence ourselves, put on a superficial mask to hide behind, and conform to group norms, but this is an unhealthy pattern.
Romans 12:2 states, “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.” Jesus says in John 15:18-19, “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you.” Jesus understood rejection. Psalm 118:22 predicted his rejection, “The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.” When Pontius Pilate offered the crowd mercy for a man, the crowd shouted for Barabbas to be freed instead of Jesus and then chanted “Crucify him” for Jesus.
In this world, we will face rejection because we weren’t made for this world. So how do we remain who God made us to be and stand for truth?
Remember you are not alone and never forsaken. - “For the Lord will not reject his people; he will never forsake his inheritance.” Psalm 94:14.
Ask yourself, What am I afraid will happen if I speak the truth in this situation? Is that really going to harm me? - “The Lord is with me; I will not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?” Psalm 118:6.
Be bold. Through small victories, you’ll grow bolder incrementally. - “If God is for us, who can be against us?” Romans 8:31.
Sunday night, my family gathered to watch the Patriots in the playoffs. While it was a messy game, we were excited for their win, but tears came to my eyes when, after the game, the Patriots knelt together side by side with Texas and prayed. It takes boldness to pray with your opponents and even more so if there’s a chance it could hurt your career, but these players chose boldness.
It always starts with one. I Googled when the Patriots started praying after games with other teams. The Patriot Fetch mentioned that it stemmed from the traumatic January 2023 game, where the Buffalo Bills’ safety, Damar Hamlin, went into cardiac arrest on the field, and players, fans, and viewers all over prayed for him. The Patriots went on to play the Bills in January of 2024 and lost, but they still felt for the players who witnessed their teammate collapse. A few players kneeled and prayed together with their opponents.
This small gesture has continued to gather strength. This year, the teams prayed together again, even though the loss was reversed, and the Patriots continue to pray with any willing rivals, including after this Sunday’s playoff game with the Texas Longhorns. In 2023 and 2024, media networks didn’t broadcast these prayer huddles (you can find them posted by fans on social media), but this year the network cameras zoomed in for these incredible and touching moments.
While I was unable to discover who was the first player to kneel and pray for Damar Hamlin, or which player reached out to the opposing team to ask if they’d be willing to pray together after the game, I’m grateful for them. I’m thankful that they decided God is more important than rejection, that unity in Jesus is greater than jerseys, rivalry, and politics. I’m blessed by the football players who knelt to pray after the games and boldly stood for Jesus. And I’m grateful to the camera operators and media networks who, this year, did the same.
“If God is for us, who can be against us?” Romans 8:31.