Healing from Rejection

Author: ettie.v

Author Location: Germiston, South Africa

“He was despised and rejected by others, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain. Like one from whom people hide their faces he was despised, and we held him in low esteem.” Isaiah 53:3

Rejection hurts.

It cuts deeper when it comes from those who were supposed to love you without condition. Maybe it came from your parents when you first shared your truth. Maybe it came from a pastor who once called you family. Maybe it came from people you didn’t even know—strangers who felt entitled to comment on your existence.

Whatever form it took, rejection leaves a mark. It tells us we’re not enough. It whispers lies about our worth. And sometimes, it even convinces us that God, too, has turned away.

But hear this: Jesus knows rejection intimately.

Isaiah paints a picture of a Savior who was no stranger to pain. Jesus was mocked, misunderstood, abandoned. He was “a man of suffering, familiar with pain.” Not just physical pain, but the emotional wounds of being despised and dismissed. He knows what it feels like to be cast aside by religious leaders, disbelieved by His own people, and left alone in His darkest hour.

And yet, He didn’t withdraw. He drew closer to the hurting.

When I came out, I felt rejected by many people I had once considered family. Some offered awkward smiles; others disappeared altogether. Since almost all of these people were Christian friends, I found myself sometimes wondering if I could even be part of the local church. The hurt and pain was very real.

It is in the quiet moments with Jesus, when I read words, like these words in Isaiah, that I can begin to understand: my pain is not foreign to God.

Christ entered into our suffering so we would never be alone in ours.

If you’ve been rejected, know this: it was not because you were unworthy. It was not because you were unlovable. You were, and are, deeply loved by the One who sees every hidden hurt. Jesus is not waiting for you to “get it together” before He comes near. He is already here, standing beside you in your sorrow, ready to begin the healing.

Healing doesn’t mean forgetting. It means refusing to let the voices of rejection define your worth. It means leaning into the truth that God has chosen you, called you, and still delights in you.

So breathe. Cry if you need to. Bring your wounds to the One who was wounded too.

Call to Action:
Take a moment today to journal about one experience of rejection that still lingers in your heart. Then, write a letter to Jesus as if He were sitting with you in that moment. Tell Him everything. Invite Him to sit with your pain. And if you feel led, share your prayer with a trusted friend, therapist, or spiritual companion. Healing begins when we stop hiding the wound.

You are not alone. And you are still God’s beloved.