Dear Friend,
This month God put this message on my heart for you. I started thinking about the power of forgiveness and its connection to rejection — and rejection’s connection to fear. There was a woman I knew years ago whose body was filled with cancer. One day a man of God received a word of knowledge and the working of miracles — two gifts of the Holy Spirit — concerning this woman and he began praying in tongues over her.
As he was praying in tongues, she began to scream out all the times she had been rejected, starting with when she was a very, very young girl. After all this rejection and pain in her soul were confessed, they soon found there was no cancer in her body. But shortly after this miracle, this woman encountered another situation where someone she deeply loved rejected her, and the cancer came back and she died.
Another woman, a friend of mine, recently died from an illness. She was actually getting better, but her father, who had already rejected her most of her life, came to see her and threatened to take everything away from her. She died just a few days later. I know that, scientifically speaking, this woman died of a terrible disease. But it was the pain of rejection that was actually the killer and took her life in the end.
The forgiveness that Jesus gave us — because He was rejected by His Father because of our sin — freed us of rejection by the love of God. He forgave us and overcame all the horrible evils of mankind, and mankind was forgiven. But in the same way, we have to receive the forgiveness that He gave us.
Oh friend, it is more important than ever for us to become more and more acquainted with the love of God and to extend that love of God to others the best we can. It could be a spouse, a parent, a brother, a sister, or even a friend or a stranger who inflicted us with so much pain. But it is the love of God that is so powerful. If we let it, His love can extinguish all the pain in our life. The Bible says we do not fight against flesh and blood but against principalities and powers that want to wound our hearts and separate us from one another (see Ephesians 6:12). We are not fighting against that person; we are warring against the enemy of this world and his evil strategies.
As I was thinking about all of this, I also reflected on the love of God that was shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost. And it says in Romans 5:5, “Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.”
The Bible says in Isaiah 54:17: “No weapon formed against you shall prosper, and every tongue which rises against you in judgment you shall condemn.” What is this great power that is used to destroy those weapons? It is the love of God in you and me, and it’s greater than any weapon the enemy tries to use against us.
There is no power greater on this earth than the love of God, and the love of God is the great extinguisher of rejection. And therein lies the power that has been made available to us to tap in to and forgive others. Jesus has already forgiven us, and we need to extend this same forgiveness that we receive to others. Jesus paid the complete price for every place in our heart to be filled with the love of God so rejection has no room to dwell there — even if it was a very, very small closet. The whole price was paid to free our complete heart.
But remember: Rejection, if embraced, can leave us as a victim — not a victor.
Think about the Apostle Paul and how he did not die from sickness or disease. It says in Second Timothy 4:7, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” And verse 8 says, “Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing.” Paul died a victor — not a victim.
The apostle Paul, with all that had happened to him, could have died a bitter man, but the love of God which he embraced healed his body and soul over and over again, and he gave this forgiveness to those who lied about him, betrayed him, and persecuted him.
I am not saying this kind of forgiveness — extended to those who have rejected us, and then allowing God to free us with His love — is easy. We find even more instruction from Jesus about this very challenge to give love and forgiveness to those who have wounded us in Matthew: “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you” (Matthew 5:43,44). Matthew was very clear: We are to love our enemies, and we have the love of God on the inside of us which empowers us to do this.
I once had the privilege to go to Rome and see the place that historians say was the very place where the apostle Paul laid his head to be executed. Historians say they did not drag him to that stump, but that when Paul saw it, he ran and embraced it and wrapped his arms around it. His attitude was not one of a victim, but a victor. He saw decapitation as an entrance into Heaven, and he knew that day he would be swept up into the arms of Jesus.
The love of God is greater than any hate. Jesus proved this love as He hung on the cross, pushing up on His torn flesh where the nails were piercing his torn feet, enduring the excruciating pain that enabled him to breathe. He also proved this great love to us when the Roman soldiers spat on Him, beat Him, and slapped Him, and still, He spoke the words, “Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing” (see Luke 23:34 NLT).
This is the love of God that extinguishes the sting of rejection, and this is the very love of God that dwells in your spirit. Even though the pain that comes through the actions or words of another can scream very loudly, the love of God is even louder. His words and actions are louder and more powerful — with forgiveness, compassion, and kindness that we receive from our wonderful Savior — than any rejection or onslaught that has been inflicted on us by another.
The devil wants us to believe that we are the rejected. But that’s a lie! Jesus says we are the accepted in the beloved. It was the love of God poured out by our wonderful Savior that has freed us to forgive and to be released from the pains of rejection. Forgiveness is the expeller of rejection!
Thank you for spending this time with me. I wanted to share this message with you because it is very important in these last days that we continue to extend love and forgiveness to anyone who hurts or offends us. Jesus said that offenses will come (see Luke 17:1), and I know He wants to equip us for this time to walk as victors over the painful emotions of rejection.
Are you ready to live the life of a victor? I want to recommend my book Unstoppable to you. I know that the enemy wants to stop us in our race of faith with the attacks of others and for us to be offended and remain in bitterness, but God has a limitless supply of everything we need to be unstoppable! I am hearing from many who have read Unstoppable and are experiencing freedom and victory. I am so thankful for each and every response, comment, and testimony.
I also want to invite you to watch my program TIME With Denise Renner on YouTube, Facebook, or Telegram! And if you need prayer today, please do not hesitate to call our prayer team at 1.800.742.5593 or email us at prayer@deniserenner.org. Let’s continue to equip ourselves with the love of God so we can give this love to others.
Moving forward together,
Denise Renner