They have not rejected you

And the LORD said to Samuel, "Heed the voice of the people in all that they say to you; for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected Me, that I should not reign over them. – 1 Samuel 8v7

We have all felt rejected at times. Any one who tries to serve the Lord will certainly feel rejected in their efforts to serve Him. If we are not careful we can let rejection get in the way of our faithful service.

Samuel was faithfully leading the people as priest. This was one of those times when Israel had what came closest to being a Theocratic form of government. The leadership of the nation was in the hands of His appointed priest.

That did not set well with the people. Everybody else had a king so they wanted one too. ‘You are getting old Samuel. Your sons are not following you (that had to really hurt). Make us a king so we can be like everyone else.’

Samuel did the right thing about it. He prayed. God told him – ‘Don’t worry Samuel. They have not rejected you; they have rejected me as their King.’

I think we can take heart in these words. If we are going to be faithful to the Lord people are going to reject us. Doors, literally or figuratively, are going to be slammed in our faces. When we stand for Christ we have to know that it is going to be a ‘turn off’ for some people. We can’t let that discourage us. We have to remember that what they are rejecting is our Lord. Instead of making us discouraged that should break our hearts and motivate us even more to serve Him and let them know the One they are rejecting.

Don’t get discouraged by those who reject our message. Lets get motivated to let them get to know the One they are rejecting and see the love that He has for them.