How to Overcome Rejection and Step Into Your Destiny
Today’s topic is one that every leader and marketplace professional needs to hear: How to Deal with Rejection. Whether you’re in business, ministry, or leadership, rejection is a universal experience. It’s not if you’ll face it but how you’ll handle it that makes all the difference.
Rejection can be painful. It can leave us feeling unwanted, excluded, or discouraged. But let me encourage you today—rejection doesn’t have to define you. In fact, it can refine you. If handled correctly, it can propel you closer to your God-given destiny.
Let’s dive into eight key principles to help you turn rejection into growth and breakthrough.
Why Mental Toughness Matters More Than Ever
These days, there’s so much talk about mental health, and rightly so. Challenges are everywhere—personal, professional, global. But listen, mental toughness doesn’t mean ignoring your emotions; it means training your mind to respond with strength.
Here’s the question: Are you facing today as a victim or a victor? Your mindset makes all the difference.
1. See Rejection as God’s Protection—Change Your Perspective
When rejection comes, it’s easy to feel like a door is slammed in your face. But what if that door was closed by God to protect you?
Early in my ministry, I wanted to connect with certain groups, thinking they would help me grow. Time after time, my attempts failed. At first, I saw it as rejection. It was frustrating, discouraging, and even depressing. But as I continued walking with God, I realized He was protecting me from the wrong people so He could position me with the right ones.
The key here is perspective. What if the rejection you’re feeling isn’t rejection at all—but divine redirection? Maybe that job you didn’t get, that deal that fell through, or that person who walked away wasn’t supposed to be part of your destiny.
Think about it: When you look back at your life, aren’t you glad some things didn’t work out? Aren’t you grateful for the people God removed to make room for those who truly align with His plan for you?
God knows what’s best for your journey. Trust Him to close the doors that aren’t meant for you so He can open the ones that are. Change your perspective, and you’ll change how you handle rejection.
2. Not Everyone is Assigned to Your Destiny
Here’s a truth every leader must embrace: not everyone is meant to join you on your journey. Sometimes, people won’t understand your dream or support your vision—and that’s okay.
Think of Joseph in Genesis. He shared his God-given dream with his family, and instead of cheering him on, they hated him. The same thing happened to me 40 years ago when I started Church on the Rock. Some people doubted I’d succeed, but their rejection didn’t derail me—it revealed who was truly meant to walk with me.
Surround yourself with people who bring out the best in you. Let go of those who don’t align with your destiny.
3. Use Rejection as Fuel to Push You Forward
Every leader faces moments when people say, “You can’t do it,” or “It’s impossible.” But rejection can become your greatest motivation. When someone doubts you, let it push you to achieve even greater things.
Michael Jordan famously used criticism as fuel to become one of the greatest basketball players of all time. Similarly, when I faced naysayers in ministry, I reminded myself that with God, the impossible is possible. Don’t let rejection defeat you, but let it fuel you. When people push you down, push you back, or tell you that you won’t make it, use it as energy to go further. Instead of allowing rejection to discourage you, turn it into motivation to prove that, with God, all things are possible.
Let rejection be the spark that drives you to accomplish what others say can’t be done!
4. Trust God with Your Relationships
Rejection often stems from trying to force relationships that aren’t part of God’s plan for you. But you can trust God to bring the right people into your life.
Proverbs 13:20 says, “Walk with the wise and become wise, for a companion of fools suffers harm.” Your relationships will shape your future. Pray, “Lord, bring the right people into my life and keep the wrong ones out.” Trust His timing and His wisdom.
5. Believe What God Says About You
The voices of rejection can be loud, but God’s voice is louder. When others say, “You can’t,” God says, “You can.” When they say, “You’re not enough,” He says, “You’re fearfully and wonderfully made.”
Early in my ministry, a pastor I deeply respected told me and my wife, Kim, that we didn’t have what it took to succeed in ministry. But we chose to believe what God said over what man said— and here we are, decades later, fulfilling a vision only God could bring to pass.
People may not see your potential. They may not recognize the gifts, talents, and calling that God has placed in you. But that doesn’t mean it’s not there. Not everyone is assigned to your destiny, and not everyone will believe in what God has put inside of you. That’s why you have to decide—whose voice will you believe?
The Bible asks in Isaiah 53:1, "Whose report will you believe?" Will you believe the doubts of others, or will you trust in what God says about you? Hold onto His promises and move forward in confidence, knowing that His plan for your life is greater than any rejection you will ever face.
6. Focus on Your Relationship with God
Rejection may isolate you from people, but it can draw you closer to God. Your relationship with Him is the most important connection you’ll ever have. He created you, gifted you, and called you for a unique purpose.
Acts 17:28 reminds us, “In Him we live and move and have our being.” When you feel rejected, run to the One who will never reject you. Let His love and affirmation fill every void.
You need to realize that when others are against you, the majority is still for you—because God is a majority! If God is for you, it doesn’t matter who is against you. Romans 8:31 declares, “If God is for us, who can be against us?” Instead of focusing on who walked away, focus on the One who stands with you. Build your relationship with Him, and you’ll find the confidence and strength to keep moving forward.
7. Change the Way You Think
Rejection can make you feel like a victim, but a victim mentality will keep you stuck. Instead, take control of your thoughts. Romans 12:2 encourages us to “be transformed by the renewing of your mind.”
How you think determines how you respond. Shift your mindset to see rejection as an opportunity for growth, not a reason to give up.
8. Take 100% Responsibility for Your Life
This is a hard one in a culture that often encourages a victim mentality. But as long as you blame others for where you are, you’ll stay stuck.
Success begins when you take full responsibility for your life. Your choices, decisions, and reactions determine your future. Refuse to let rejection paralyze you. Instead, choose to grow, learn, and move forward.
If I blame, I lame. Blaming others keeps you weak, stagnant, and powerless. When you shift responsibility onto others—your boss, your upbringing, your circumstances—you give away your power to change. But when you take 100% responsibility, you put yourself in a position to overcome rejection, grow stronger, and walk boldly into the destiny God has for you.
Final Thoughts
Rejection isn’t the end of your story—it’s part of the journey toward your God-given purpose. As you embrace these principles, you’ll find that what once felt like a setback can become the very thing that sets you up for success.
Let me leave you with this powerful truth from Galatians 6:4 (MSG): “Make a careful exploration of who you are and the work you have been given, and then sink yourself into that. Don’t be impressed with yourself. Don’t compare yourself with others.”
Remember, God is for you. When others reject you, His love and purpose remain constant. Lean into Him, and watch how He turns rejection into redirection.
If this message has encouraged you, share it with someone who needs to hear it. Until next time, keep growing and keep leading. And never forget: God is for you!