Rejection.

We’ve all experienced rejection at some point in our lives.  Whether it be with friends,  family,  or someone who you thought you could trust, rejection is a sin that humans encounter throughout life. The spirit of rejection is real and severs the relationships that we once thought were near and dear before we thought we were accepted in this world. For me, it was with my family.

I have certain family members who condemn me for my faith in Jesus. Whenever I mention anything having to do with Jesus, they react out in meanness, rejecting my Jesus who lives inside of me and in turn rejecting me.  This causes me to feel alone even though I know this is not true. They continue to mock me just as Jesus was mocked and reject me just as Jesus was rejected. One of my family members even told me more than once, “I don’t have to love you.” These words may have put me down in the moment, but as a follower of Jesus Christ, I know that when the world hates me for my faith that only makes me stronger, giving me the strength to press forward and even handle rejection with love as Jesus did. “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me” (Philippians 4:13).

I love my family with a love like Jesus’ love. It is a love that is so strong that I continue to pursue my family despite their ongoing rejection of me. It is what I, as a Christian, am called to do out of love. “The Lord hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love; therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee” (Jeremiah 31:3).

God’s compassion and mercy are infinite and I pray that all of my family will be open to experiencing it. “It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. But though He cause grief, yet will He have compassion according to the multitude of His mercies” (Lamentations 3:22, 32).

When the world and its people reject you, Jesus will never reject you. He has always loved you and I know this to be true for myself because I experience God’s love everyday, even when my own flesh fights to reject it.  “My flesh and my heart faileth: but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever” (Psalm 73:26).

I will not give up on my family because God never gave up on them. I will continue to pray and pursue them as God does, hoping that God will transform their hearts to accept and not reject Jesus one day. “Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God,  God dwelleth in him, and he in God” (1 John 4:15).

It happened.

In December 2012, my ex boyfriend broke up with me. While it was a very sad time for me for 3 months,  the Lord made known to me that He had better plans for me than the plans that I had for myself.  “For I know the plans that I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future” (Jeremiah 29:11).

Even though the sadness I felt was a worldly sadness,  little did I know then that this breakup would be used to turn my life around for God’s glory. Thus began this new walk of my life in Christ. “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature; old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new” (2 Corinthians 5:17).

My brothers and sisters in Christ from college invited me to Campus Outreach ministry events and church each Sunday. Day by day, I began to change into the woman of God that the Lord was calling me to be. I abandoned my desire for a boyfriend and began to passionately pursue my love for Christ. This act required me to sacrifice desires of the flesh. God delivered me from my own selfish and sinful desires.  “And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil” (Matthew 6:13).

After God’s divine act of deliverance in this stage of my life, I surrendered my life to Christ. This was truly a miracle because even though I knew what it meant to be a Christian as a child,  I did not know what it meant to actively live it out until my friends in Christ from college showed me that only Jesus saves. “Even so hath the Lord ordained that they which preach the Gospel should live of the Gospel” (1 Corinthians 9:14).

My ex boyfriend was not my superhero and could not save me from myself in the same way that Jesus did with His birth, life, death on the cross,  and absolute victorious resurrection from the grave. Only Jesus saves. “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 6:23).

I hope that this lesson that I learned applies not just to myself,  but everyone who is reading this page of my blog. Only a relationship with Jesus Christ saves one from themselves and sin. If you are seeking a personal relationship with Jesus as Lord and Savior of your life, you have to admit that you are a sinner, believe that Jesus died for you on the cross and confess your sins to Him. After praying this prayer, you are a saved child of God by His loving grace. “For by grace are ye saved through faith,  and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9).

God showed me grace during this period of my life, even when I didn’t deserve it. This prayer that I prayed gave me full assurance that I am a child of God. “By grace are ye saved” (Ephesians 2:5).

Now, as a daughter of Christ, I don’t look back because there is no reason to. I am saved by Jesus’ grace and that in and of itself is enough for me. “Our heart is not turned back,  neither have our steps declined from thy way” (Psalm 44:18).

Today was a great first day at Camp David Vacation Bible School at First Baptist Church Atlanta.

Boys and girls ranging from 6th grade to 8th grade came to VBS, excited and full of energy for what the Lord was going to do through them today. “Fear not, O land: be glad and rejoice: for the Lord will do great things” (Joel 2:21).

Since one of the main themes for this year’s VBS is the armor of God, the pastor delivered a great message in the Bible study on truth and how to live by it in a Christlike manner. He said that truth builds character, spiritual depth, and confidence. “I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept my faith” (2 Timothy 4:7).

Before going into our small group discussions,  the pastor ended it by quoting a verse that left the middle schoolers awestruck since it applied to their lives. I could even say that this verse not only applied to them, but to the adults as well. “And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” (John 8:32).

In the small group discussion, I went over the points made by the pastor. I also described, in depth, what the pastor’s points meant with Biblical scripture and how it applied to their daily lives. I even prayed with the 6th grade girls and could feel the Lord moving in the room where we were in as I prayed with them. God was so good to us. “One thing have I desired of the Lord,  that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold of the beauty of the Lord, and to enquire in His temple” (Psalm 27:4).

As me and the other volunteers said goodbye to the middleschoolers as they left VBS, I thought of the impact that the Lord through me had on these middle schoolers. It was amazing to see His mighty hand at work today while He used me for His Kingdom’s glory today. God was glorified today and will be for the next 4 days at Camp David! “And I will give them one heart and one way, that they may fear me forever, for the good of them, and of their children after them” (Jeremiah 32:39).

Bountifully blessed.

These are the spiritual convictions that describe my current status. This week, I will be teaching and leading for Camp David Vacation Bible School at First Baptist Atlanta. “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because He hath anointed me to preach the Gospel to the poor; He hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised” (Luke 4:18).

I am beyond humbled and excited at the same time to have this opportunity just as I did in Lebanon to be a light for Jesus to the 6th grade girls around me. God is so good. “Let your speech be alway with grace,  seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man” (Colossians 4:6).

The main theme for this year’s VBS is the armor of God. Pray that I, the volunteers, and all of the children will put on the full armor of God and use it to fight off Satan’s lies and temptations. “Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil” (Ephesians 6:11).

Pray that the light of Jesus will touch their lives in ways that I could not by my own work. “I am the light of the world: He that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life” (John 8:12).

Also, pray that the 6th grade girls will be divinely inspired by the Living Word of Jesus so that they will search the scriptures for eternal life and that those who do not know Him will come to Him and accept Him as Savior and Lord of their lives. “Search the scriptures: for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me” (John 5:39).

Thank you everyone for your continued support,  but most importantly,  thank the Lord for presenting me with this amazing opportunity! “But we are bound to give thanks alway to God for you, brethren because of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth” (2 Thessalonians 2:13).

Before going to Lebanon,  God showed me another sign.

Through the clarity and discernment of my circle of sisters in Christ, He showed me to return to college to get my Master’s Degree.  “Behold, I have done according to thy words: lo, I have given thee a wise and an understanding heart; so that there was none like thee before thee, neither after thee shall any arise like unto thee” (1 Kings 3:12).

Before deciding on what college to attend, I prayed to God that what I desire to do in the next stage of my life will be a total reflection of God’s kingdom and not myself. That is because being all about myself instead of how the Lord could use me to further His kingdom instead would be selfish. “Seek ye first the kingdom of God,band His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you” (Matthew 6:33).

After taking a moment to examine my heart’s intentions for God, I decided to apply to Liberty University,  which is a Christian college. I got accepted one week after I applied! God is so good in that He matched my heart’s desire with His desire to further His Kingdom! “Delight thyself also in the Lord; and He shall give thee the desires of thine heart” (Psalm 37:4).

In this next walk of my life, I will glorify Him first as I read books, write papers, and do homework on my God, who I will passionately pursue, in all of my studies. “For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace” (Romans 8:6).

It was a sacrifice I made for the sake of building God’s kingdom.

After seeking advice and counsel from my fellow brothers and sisters in Christ and praying to God for discernment,  the Holy Spirit of the Lord led me to quit my job in order for me to go on a trip to Lebanon. “Commit thy works unto the Lord,  and thy thoughts shall be established” (Proverbs 16:3).

The reason for quitting was out of sacrifice just as Jesus did for us. He forsook everything in order for us to follow Him. “If any man will come after me, let Him deny Himself, and take up His cross daily and follow me” (Luke 9:23).

God was testing me. It was as if He was asking me, “Would you forsake everything in order to further My Kindgom on this trip? Do you love me enough that you would quit your job for my Kingdom’s sake?”

So, I took my own cup, just as Jesus prayed to God the Father,  and said, “Take this cup from me. Let Your will be done and not mine.” Even Jesus said this in the Book of Luke 22:42, “Father,  if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done.”

I went to Lebanon with a faith that was unshakable and a discernment that was so clear. “For we walk by faith,  not by sight” (2 Corinthians 5:7).

It was so clear that I knew I made the right decision because the Holy Spirit of God confirmed it to me countless times in Biblical scripture. One of the verses He showed me was a promise God made to me that I would flourish spiritually while in Lebanon. “The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree, He shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon” (Psalm 92:12).

When I returned from Lebanon, I knew that the Lord had blessed me while there and I can testify of this because of the many abundant blessings He poured out on me while there for doing His Kingdom’s work. “And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars forever and ever” (Daniel 12:3).

My El Shaddai blessed me with more than I could imagine. His peace surpassed my own understanding of what was to happen as I surrendered everything in order for His Holy Spirit to lead me. “Howbeit when He, the Spirit of truth is come, He will guide you into all truth: for He shall not speak of Himself; but whatsoever He shall hear, that shall He speak: and He will shew you things to come. He shall glorify me: for He shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you” (John 16:13-14).

I let the will of the Lord be done in Lebanon as it was in Heaven. His Living Word speaks to all of us in many ways and when His Holy Spirit speaks to us, we are called to obey. “For the word of God is quick, and powerful,  and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intentions of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12).

God is a good, good Heavenly Father with good intentions for His children, even when the stakes seem high.  He is always there for us and never ever forsakes us. “”….for He hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee” (Hebrews 13:5).