John Paul Jackson - Breaking Free of Rejection

Breaking Free of Rejection

Copyright 2004 by John Paul Jackson

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without written permission from Streams Publishing House, P.O. Box 550, North Sutton, New Hampshire 03260. www.streamsministries.com

ISBN 1-58483-054-9

ISBN: 9780985863821

Creative Director and Managing Editor: Carolyn Blunk

Associate Editor: Jordan Bateman

Contributing Editor: Celeste Pennington

Copy Editor: Dorian Kreindler

Editorial Assistant: Mary Ballotte

Cover and Interior Designed by Dan Jamison

Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations are taken from New King James Version. Copyright 1979, 1980, 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.

Printed in the United States of America.

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To those who dare embrace rejection and now choose to walk courageously beyond.

CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

How grateful I am for my wife, Diane! Past wounds of rejection are so gently erased when exposed to the light of such enduring love.

The hard work and passion of many have made the release of Breaking Free of Rejection possible. I wish to thank Greg Mapes and Joe McGuirl for their prayers and encouragement; over the years, their friendship has repeatedly refreshed me.

I am grateful to Carolyn Blunk, who provided editorial guidance and creative direction in turning this manuscript into a book. Thanks also goes to Celeste Pennington and Jordan Bateman, who helped to craft this manuscript from audiotape transcripts; Mary Ballotte, who helped verify Scriptures; Dorian Kreindler, who meticulously copyedited each page. I also want to thank Dan Jamison, whose beautiful designs frame this book.

As always, I am so grateful to the Streams staff and friends who contributed unselfishly of their time and who painstakingly proofread the layouts: Don Archibald, Pat and Paul Leary, Roxanne Stewart, and D. J. van Iwaarden.

For God is not unjust to forget your work and labor of love which you have shown toward His name, in that you have ministered to the saints, and do minister (Hebrews 6:10).

INTRODUCTION

If you are a Christian who has experienced deep rejection, you are in good company. Thumb through the Bible and youll find a long list of patriarchs and leaders who faced rejection and overcame it to become powerful voices in Gods Kingdom. In fact, the book of Hebrews clearly mentions the heroes of Christianity who out of weakness were made strong, became valiant in battle (Hebrews 11:34). May you, too, overcome the obstacles that will keep you from experiencing the fullness of Gods created purposes for your life.

As you look at biblical leaders, you will notice that those with the biggest tasks had first to overcome rejection in their lives. Only then could they be used by God in mighty ways.

The prophet Daniel was a prisoner of war after Babylon captured Jerusalem. By adulthood, he was among the Babylonian empires top leaders and yet he was rejected by them. At the height of his influence, Daniel defied the Babylonian decree to worship only King Darius. Three times a day, Daniel knelt before his Godno matter the cost to his influence, reputation, and well-being.

Even though his eyes were a fountain of tears, Jeremiah refused to change Gods message of judgment in order to appease his enraged audiences (Jeremiah 9:1). He steadfastly served God and spoke His words, despite the stigma of doing so.

For approximately one hundred and twenty years, Noah toiled at constructing an ark the size of a modern ocean liner, preaching Gods message of repentance and salvation. His message about a coming flood drew guffaws and derision from a community that had never even experienced a rainstorm. But, through it all, Noah did everything God commanded him.

As Joseph, David, Gideon, Ruth, and other biblical leaders could well attest, the path of rejection might be more rigorous than they would have chosen, but the reward was also beyond their wildest expectations. These were men and women who changed the face of history simply by pressing on toward their goal of being obedient to God.

Rejection is part of the training God uses to raise up leaders. Leaders must process rejection, and not become embittered, in order to survive where God wants to take them.

All of us have experienced the pain of rejection. We have known people in our circle of friends or family members who have been scarred by rejection, and who have never recovered. All of us need the transforming power of God in our lives to overcome the wounds of rejection. I pray that the scriptural principles I have found, along with my own experiences, will shed some light and offer a clearer understanding of what it takes to break free from the tyranny of rejection, and, thereby, become a person whose life is characterized by a deeply rooted spiritual transformation.

In The Shawshank Redemption, a prisoner named Andy Dufresne obtains a small rock hammer. He assures his fellow prisoner Red that he needs the hammer to pursue his hobby of rock carving. But one night Andy uses the hammer to carve his initials on his cell wall, and he finds that the rock easily crumbles before him. For the next twenty years (behind the cover of different posters), Andy slowly burrows his way out of his cell using the small rock hammer. With patience and persistence, Andy eventually breaks free. Breaking free, unfortunately, can be a long, tedious, hidden process, but it is worth the effort in order to become a champion of faith.

In my life, cutting loose from rejections bondage didnt happen easily or all at once. At times, it felt agonizingly slow. Other times, the freedom came in spurts. But God always kept within my heart an inner resolve to carry on. Over and over, I would tell myself to continueto persevere, not to give up.

As Winston Churchill once told the British people during the darkest days of World War II, Never, never, never, never give up. It was a maxim to hold on to. Likewise, I would remind myself that Iand my woundsmust be healed, so that I could accomplish everything that God had purposed for me. If these wounds were not healed, the cycles of anguish I had experienced would keep occurring, and my life would never change.

God began the work of restoration in my life. He would complete it, if I didnt get frustrated or discouraged and quit before He was finished. I couldnt give up. Neither should you.

In this book, I will explore the issues of rejection and how to find healing. Over the years, I have discovered that the key to spiritual healing centers on embracing, and being grounded in, Gods love. In Ephesians 3:1421, the apostle Paul prayed that we would know the love of Christ. The Greek word for know is ginosko and connotes an experiential knowledge. Therefore, I want to agree with Pauls prayer that you would experience and accept the healing love that God has to offer you in Jesus Christ.