What is the fruit of rejection? How does it manifest in our lives? Scientists have now proven that rejection is directly linked to anger and aggression. A 2001 report issued by the United States Surgeon General concluded that “rejection was a greater risk for adolescent violence than drugs, poverty, or gang membership.”

Rejection enters our lives and produces tragic and devastating fruit. You can see why the enemy would make this one of his greatest weapons in warfare against us.

So if bitterness and unforgiveness are the root and rejection is the seed, then what is the soil? After all, without the right soil, a seed won’t grow. Matthew 13 talks about the importance of where a seed falls. If it is going to sprout and grow, then it must fall on fertile soil. 

Is it possible that the soil in which rejection grows best is fear? Perhaps deep down, someone believes they are not lovable and fears they will not be accepted. Any rejection received from a parent, friend, or spouse serves only to feed this fear, and the seed of rejection begins to grow.

What if someone believes they are not smart or talented enough and fears someone will notice their inadequacy? Then getting laid off becomes much more than just losing a job. It is a rejection that confirms a deep fear, grows into a root of bitterness and unforgiveness, and produces the fruit of distrust in bosses, companies, and working society in general.

Today, social media makes people more vulnerable to rejection than ever before. We subject ourselves to thoughts of rejection by people who have no idea they are even rejecting us. This confirms our subconscious fears that we are alone and no one likes us. The devil is always working angles to try to get us to come into agreement with these lies. He is constantly planting seeds of rejection in the soil of our fears. 

Here’s the good news: even when our rejection causes us pain and produces bad fruit, we serve a God who redeems and restores. Maybe the key to overcoming the fruit of rejection in our lives is simply coming to terms with not who we are but Whose we are.

 To read more of Half the Battle, purchase your copy at the link here.

 Copyright © 2020 by Jon Chasteen