Moving Forward Past Anger, Sadness, and Rejection
How do I move past the anger and sadness of being rejected by a man because he simply wants what I can't give him?
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I think one of the biggest misconceptions is that sadness is somehow a sin. In fact, there are even certain types of anger mentioned in the bible that are not considered sin. In John 11:33-36 the Bible says,
"When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled. “Where have you laid him?” he asked. “Come and see, Lord,” they replied. Jesus wept. Then the Jews said, “See how he loved him!”
Jesus lived a perfect life, free from sin, but even he felt sadness. In fact, he felt anger as well. In Matthew 21:12-13 it says,
"Jesus entered the temple courts and drove out all who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves. “It is written,” he said to them, “‘My house will be called a house of prayer,’ but you are making it ‘a den of robbers.]”
This is actually a pretty mild account of the situation. Consider this account in
John 2:14-16...
"And He found in the temple those who were selling oxen and sheep and doves, and the money changers seated at their tables. And He made a scourge of cords, and drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and the oxen; and He poured out the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables; and to those who were selling the doves He said, "Take these things away; stop making My Father's house a place of business."…
Jesus was 100% God, but he was also 100% man. He felt emotions and faced temptations just like we do. He even felt rejection and abandonment. In Luke 9:22 it says,
"The Son of Man must suffer many terrible things," he said. "He will be rejected by the elders, the leading priests, and the teachers of religious law. He will be killed, but on the third day he will be raised from the dead."
He was rejected by man...even by you and me... and Romans 5:8 says
"But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us."
In fact he died an ultimate death. He felt the ultimate abandonment. God had to abandon him in order for Jesus to take our place on the cross. This is seen in Matthew 27:46,
"At about three o'clock, Jesus called out with a loud voice, "Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?" which means "My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?"
Anger and sadness are natural emotions to feel, especially when you have been rejected and abandoned. I too have felt these emotions. I think there is a certain time period where we feel the affects of the hurt, and that is something that just takes time to heal. Jesus is the ultimate healer. His ministry was focused on healing, both physical and spiritual healing. 1 Peter 2:24 says,
"He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed."
I do believe though, that we should not dwell on these things too long though. Philippians 3:13 says just this.
"No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead,"
He is saying don't look back too long but start moving forward. There is a great song by Isreal Houghton called Moving Forward that really picks up my spirits.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eQBjXG2B-_I
Okay, so move forward...but "Where do I start?" you ask. Matthew 6:33 says
"Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need."
This verse says you have to seek God above all else. This first starts with having a relationship with him. If you don't already have a relationship with him, I encourage you to check out my section found on my homepage "What must I do to be saved?" and see how you can have a relationship with him today.
Next we must seek what God's will is in our lives. How can we know his will? Well, we have to ask him! James 1:5 says,
"If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you."
Sounds so simple doesn't it. The key, I think, is we must listen intently and be willing to do what he wants even if its not what we want.
