During the years I studied musical theatre, I repeatedly heard this warning from my instructors: “It’s a tough business out there. Get ready for rejection.”
And they weren’t kidding. For every show I was cast in, there were a half-dozen shows I didn’t even get a callback for—and I wasn’t alone in this.
Far more talented performers than I got rejected, as well—for tiny mistakes in the audition room, for having the wrong look or even being the wrong size for the costume.
Everyone I knew in that industry was familiar with rejection and, while this did lead to a certain kind of camaraderie among us, the rejection still stung when it was my turn.
Can you relate? Have you experienced the sting of rejection recently?
Maybe every interview you attend ends in the polite “we’re just not a good fit.”
Maybe someone you care about has left you or a friend’s dismissive words have left you feeling, well, turned away from.
Rejection can take many forms, but if you’ve experienced it to any degree, consider David’s words in Psalm 118:22-23:
“The stone which the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. This is the LORD’s doing. It is marvelous in our eyes.” (WEBBE)
These Old Testament words point forward to Jesus, who was rejected by the religious leaders, yet still became the cornerstone as God always intended.
I have to admit: I’ve been acquainted with these verses for years now and yet I’m just beginning to realize how ‘marvelous’ these truths really are.
They are magnificent news for us, as believers. Here are two reasons why:
1) Because Jesus is our cornerstone, we are secure in God’s household.
A cornerstone was used in construction to join two walls together—to make a building more secure. And this is how Scripture describes Christ.
Jesus is the cornerstone that secures and holds God’s household together.
As members of God’s family, we should be so thankful for this!
We do not live in a household held together by our performance or appearance. We live in a household secured by Christ alone.
This means that if we get funny looks at a church and suddenly realize we look different than other Christians, we don’t need to question how God looks at us. Our place in God’s beautifully diverse family is still secure.
And even if tomorrow we mess up and fall into sin, our place in God’s household remains unchanged and unchallenged. We are simply invited to turn back to our Father once again.
You see, as believers we are not being daily re-auditioned to see if we still qualify for the kingdom. Our acceptance is based on Christ and, therefore, our acceptance is as unchanging as He is.
2) Because Jesus was rejected, He can redeem rejection in our stories, as well.
The Psalmist wrote, “The stone which the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. This is the LORD’s doing…”
The religious leaders’ rejection of Jesus did not thwart God’s plan in any way. In fact, it actually played into His plan.
This is the Lord’s doing. It’s how He worked then and it’s how He continues to work now.
You know, we tend to think that people’s rejection can make or break us. But that’s not true.
God has crafted a plan for each of our lives and He is personally overseeing it. He will not let anyone or anything hinder what He wants to bring about. He can even take man’s rejection and cause it to serve His greater purposes for us.
Do we believe this? If we do, it has the power to transform our experience of rejection.
I got a tiny taste of this during my theatre days. Before every audition, my mom encouraged me to pray that God would open or close the door as He saw fit. She encouraged me to take any “no” I received as if it were coming from God Himself (and not the casting director).
I can’t tell you the difference this made. When, once again, the phone didn’t ring and I wondered why I hadn’t made the cut, I remembered that prayer. And, suddenly, their “no” didn’t sting quite as deep. I realized that, through the rejection, God was directing and redirecting my life.
Looking back, He was also drawing me closer to Himself.
This is something that often happens when we experience rejection, as Believers. We find a new camaraderie with Jesus, who was rejected in ways we cannot fathom and now has a deep empathy and comfort to share with us.
God has so many beautiful ways of redeeming rejection in our stories.
So, today, if we experience rejection (of any kind) we should remind ourselves that it cannot thwart God’s plan. Somehow, the sting we’re feeling now will play into the beautiful story He’s been writing all along.
And what’s more, no matter how many rejections we face in this life, our role in God’s family is eternally secure.
All of this is true because Jesus, the stone which the builders rejected, is our cornerstone. And we agree with the Psalmist that what God has done is nothing short of marvelous.
This devotion is based on one of the Scriptures from my reading plan: “Summer Soundtrack” on the Psalms. To receive a copy of the reading plan (and future reading plans), sign up for the email list below. Hope you’ll follow along!
©2024 Paige K. Burhans
Scriptures taken from the World English Bible British Edition. Public Domain.
