Making Sense of Rejection
Joseph was sold into slavery by his brothers. (Genesis 37) He was literally left to die. (Instead of the brothers killing him and having that blood on their hands, they left it to the cruel slave traders. Assuming that if He made it to Egypt, because we have to consider the journey to where he was going—included being mistreated, he would be sold as a piece of merchandise.) Joseph’s brothers rejected him, and then got rid of him. If I’m going to be completely honest, God has been walking me through the topic of rejection this week, and it’s a hard one to cover because it requires getting to the root of things. Even further, it requires being real with myself, that rejection hurts, it happens, and regardless of how saved you are, you’re going to experience it. Christ experienced it so please believe me, there’s no level of being nice, polite, attractive, high level of net worth, career occupation etc. that will get you out of it. YOU’RE GOING TO BE REJECTED.
The question isn’t if you’re going to experience rejection, but how do you walk it out? How do you change your posture when being rejected by, more often than not, the people you love the most? (Your family, your spouse, your best friends, your siblings etc) I believe, Joseph’s story teaches us a few things if we are open to exploring it closely.
1.It was Joseph's favor on his life that his brothers hated.
The bible tells us that Joseph’s father, Jacob, LOVED him MORE than any of his other children, because Joseph had been born to him in his old age. (Genesis 37:3) This is an example of favor with man.
Moving along, they hated the favor that was on his life with the Lord. Joseph, young, and excited boastfully shared a dream with his brothers that basically translated into, “One day I am going to be King and you all will bow down to me.” (Genesis 37:6-8) Now, I’d imagine if I told my siblings such things they would brush me off, and if they did believe me, naturally some jealousy would rise. Maturity in a person however, would have heard the dream and inquired more. (Similar to how Jacob responded to the dream) Would have maybe even thanked God that if anyone was going to be their King why not allow it to be one of their own, their brother. (That could have easily been a submission issue, but that’s a topic for another day)
Before moving any further, I challenge you to ask yourself, “Is it the favor in/on my life that the person/group dislikes that causes them to reject me?” If you’re going to walk this out you have to come to recognize that not everyone will personally enjoy the gifts or things that the lord has deposited in you. Instead of celebrating what you embody there’s going to be some people who will literally become annoyed with your presence. I’m tempted to take it a step further and tell you that it’s the Christ in you, that the group rejecting you hates. Not, “you.”
2. Piggy backing off of the first comment, its not “you” they hate. It’s what’s attached to you.
Joseph, would’ve been plain ole Joseph had it not been for his father showing favoritism. Joseph would’ve been plain ole Joseph, had he not had a dream. Not just any dream, but a dream that literally elevates him in rank over his brother. (Which by this point I wouldn’t be surprised if the brothers thought—he thinks he’s better than us. Mind you, this is how people think, and this is where the ball of jealousy start rolling, it starts with a false idea gone uncorrected.)
3. More often than not, if someone is rejecting you, its because what you possess challenges them in an area they don’t want to be challenged in.
Joseph’s dream was to be king. If we are going to be frank, the jealousy the brothers experienced should have be responded to with the following statement(s): “Deal with it.” “Why does it bother you that your brothers king, don’t you realize that means you’re going places too?” “Why not Joseph?” Questions like these cause a person to look at themselves. At no point in time did Joseph’s brothers think, “He’s one of us, this is a great thing!” Instead pride got in the way, jealousy, immaturity, hate, etc. All things of the flesh which led to à rejection.
4.When the Lord is with you, even when you are isolated, ostracized, picked on, overlooked, underestimated, doubted, unheard, not chosen, not seen etc, you still win.
Joseph was sold into slavery. Journeyed a long way to Egypt (where he probably went through an array of emotions, alone) and was sold to Pharaoh who was the King of Egypt. The word of God tells us that, “The Lord was with Joseph, so he succeeded in everything he did as he served in the home of his Egyptian master.” (Genesis 39:2) This is one of those situations where everything around you says that you should be screaming, you should be crying, you should feel depressed, yet favor is wavering over your entire situation.
Later on, Joseph was placed into Jail. Again, the word of God declares, “But the Lord was with Joseph in the prison and showed him his faithful love. And the Lord made Joseph a favorite with the prison warden.” (Genesis 39:21) then a few verses down it’s repeated, “…The Lord was with him and caused everything he did to succeed.” (Genesis 40:23) Honey… if that doesn’t stir you up. Keep reading.
Fast forward a bit. Joseph is in jail, he’s found favor with the guard, he’s even made a few friends. While in Jail he interprets a few dreams which later show themselves to be true. Everything he interpreted came to pass. Joseph eventually gets out of Jail and is elevated back up in rank and made ruler of Egypt because at this time, they are about to be in a state of an emergency. (HA! Point #5. Even in the midst of being rejected, you’re needed. As a matter fact, God would make it so, that the very people who rejected you, tossed you aside, declared that you’re unworthy and unnecessary, would have to come back and need YOU.)
Pharaoh who threw Joseph into jail needed Joseph to be in charge of the entire land of Egypt because they were about to experience a famine, and Joseph had strategy to see to it that they outlived the famine. This same famine however was going to affect his brothers and his dad, who at this point were living under the belief that Joseph was dead.
Cool, cool. We all understand what's going on right? Keep reading....
So at this point Joseph is pretty much that man. He’s selling food, taking charge over different parts of the land, storing food up, preparing for the famine. He is literally the go to guy. Guess who finally makes an appearance, his brothers.
6. Although Joseph recognized his brothers, they didn’t recognize him. (Genesis 42:6)
I love that verse something serious because in my thinking, I began to ask the Lord some questions. “Now, Lord, if my sister and brother aged I don’t think It would be hard to point them out. I think I would still recognize their body posture, their smiles, the way they laughed, and or spoke.” As I continued thinking about it however, Joseph changed. Rejection can change you, but so can the experiences that come with it, and if you allow it to, it can be edifying. The word of God doesn’t walk us through the emotions Joseph may or may not have experienced. It doesn’t lay out if Joseph cried the entire way to Egypt or if he sat quietly. It doesn’t tell us if he was scared every night in jail or if he was worshipping. It doesn’t even give us a glimpse of if he was bitter while also being homesick. What the word of God does tell us was that, THE LORD WAS WITH JOSEPH. The Lord being with Joseph doesn’t mean he couldn’t be real about his situation and his emotions, however, I’d like to assume, having the Lord stick close in such life changing, emotion impacting events meant a level of peace that wouldn’t make sense to those outside looking in. Joseph moved in all of his jobs with reverence and honor. He did everything well in Pharaohs home, he gained favor and was trust worthy with the guards in the jail. HOW?
If that were me, I’d be taking bathroom breaks to cry all the time, and I’d probably be in the jail balled up in the corner in a dark place. That’s how my flesh would want to respond, but the LORD was with Joseph! He didn’t have time to focus on being rejected, he was in the middle of an assignment. (catch that! His rejection, launched him into his assignment)
They didn’t recognize him because he changed inside-out. I’d imagine he was bilingual due to living in a different place, the word of God says he was handsome, and he probably was plain out fineeeee! (Lets remember however that his brothers hadn’t seen him since he was a child). He probably was built with a nice shape up! Honey!
Joseph’s development changed him, and he was unrecognizable, yet, Joseph knew his brothers when he saw them.
7. Joseph, still had feelings.
Its easy to believe that with all this favor on his life, he was over it. However, the word of God shows us that Joseph threw his brothers in jail, he played with their emotions for a bit, and he even wept. Joseph had feelings, but the one things I appreciate about Joseph is that, He didn’t linger long in those feelings/emotions. He was hurt, which for a moment, he had the right to be, but when you’re operating in the spirit, baby you can’t stay there. I’d like to believe that Joseph had them in jail, and was making fun of them and the Lord tapped him on the shoulder and said, “Alright now, enough! I’ve been faithful to you. I’ve turned a situation that look like it was for you bad, for your good. You know better. They might not have then, or even now, but you sir, you know better.” Joseph wept. Because no matter how saved you are, when people close to you reject you, it still hurts. The lord knows that, and he’s a comforter. Stop being tough, and cry.
8. Say thank you, to those who reject you.
I’m going to be honest. When I am initially rejected, the last thing I want to say is thank-you. However, at some point, I would really like for my reflexes to say, “Thank you.” I would like to take from Joseph the idea that, “Thank you, I’m not suppose to be here. So you just launched me in the direction I’m suppose to be going.” I would like to also think that when the word tells us that ALL things, which includes rejection, work for our good, that it means just what it says. That although my flesh stings, and my stomach hurts, and I want to cry, that the end goal is better than this present moment.
Joseph’s story tickles me because when I read it, I could see it. I could see him offering them a meal, I can see him loving on them because after so many years, he was over it, and really just missed his family, I could see him not tripping so much about what happened when he was younger because the way his life was looking currently, was sweeter than he’d imagine, I could see his faith being on an all time high because without saying, “I told you so” he is in fact King, so the Lord he serves is faithful and just. I laugh, because Joseph teachers perseverance, faith, and how to re-posture ourselves when we are rejected. What if Joseph kicked, screamed and cursed, because he was more hurt than anything. How much time would Joseph had lost? Or how far back would he have set himself choosing to stay mad at his brothers instead of growing through the situation?
“And he said again, “I am Joseph, your brother whom you sold into slavery in Egypt.” But don’t be upset, and do be angry with yourselves for selling me to this place. It was God who sent me here ahead of you to preserve your lives. This famine that has ravaged the land for two years will last five more years, and there will be neither plowing nor harvesting. God has sent me ahead of you to keep you and your families alive and to preserve many survivors. So it was God who sent me here, not you! And he is the one who made me an advisor to Pharaoh—the manager of his entire place and the governor of all Egypt.” –Genesis 45:3-9
He SENT me AHEAD of YOU. (So man was rejecting you, but God was SENDING you). Send me ahead of you to PRESERVE you! Can God trust you enough to preserve the ones who have rejected you?
I pray this post encourages you, I pray that you stir yourself up in the Lord, and that while everything in your flesh is telling you lies such as you’re not good enough, etc. That you take a moment to remind yourself of who you are in Gods eyes! That you trust, that everything is in fact working for your good! Keep your eyes on Him, don’t worry about your situation, and the conditions being presented. I know it doesn’t feel good, cry, wash your face and get back in the Lords. He developing some things in you, growing you up, and launching you to where you really belong.
XoXo,
Alicia Elizabeth
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