SLEDGE HAMMER FOR THE SOUL

"A boo is a lot louder than a cheer.” - Lance Armstrong

There are many things human nature, no matter how recurrent they are, cannot get used to, one of such things, is the phenomenon called REJECTION. The word rejection was first used in 1415, its original meaning was “to throw back at”, and I find this definition perfectly suitable in the light of our focus for the next few weeks on wisdom4winning. The sting of rejection lies in the fact that a good gesture, intent, desire or action is thrown back at you without as much as a response. The English dictionary defines rejection as “to throw out as useless or worthless, to discard”

Campbell Morgan was one of 150 young men who sought entrance to the Wesleyan ministry in 1888. He passed the doctrinal examinations, but then faced the trial sermon. In a cavernous auditorium that could seat more than 1,000 sat three ministers and 75 others who came to listen. When Morgan stepped into the pulpit, the vast room and the searching, critical eyes caught him up short. Two weeks later Morgan's name appeared among the l05 REJECTED for the ministry that year. Jill Morgan, his daughter-in-law, wrote in her book, A Man of the Word, "He wired to his father the one word, 'Rejected,' and sat down to write in his diary: 'Very dark everything seems. Still, He knoweth best.' Quickly came the reply: 'Rejected on earth. Accepted in heaven. Dad'"

Please understand that rejection is a constant occurrence but not permanent. If you haven’t experienced it yet, I can assure you that you will, just keep living. My concern is not whether or not you will experience rejection at some point; my concern is what happens when you do experience rejection. My prayer is that as you follow the next few weeks of devotional that you will be fully equip to withstand, as one poet puts it, “a sledgehammer to the soul”, called rejection, when it strikes.