Give Thanks For Rejection

November is a month of giving thanks for Seele.

 

There’s so much to be grateful for, and that includes closed doors. No matter how light or intense these situations can be, they are in fact opportunities for redirection and renewal.

I’m attending a conference in Saudi Arabia and when I arrived to a talk last night, I sat in a spot, then I saw a seat ahead that someone had just moved on from. So, I went to take their seat until the person beside me said, “that seat is taken.” I went to take another seat close by until someone said the same thing. At the very front there was a lovely Lebanese woman sitting on a bench and I asked her if I could sit beside her, and she said, “of course!” We got to talking and I had the most enriching conversation, where I got some burning questions answered that I wasn’t able to ask speakers during Q&A sessions in the days before. While I was talking to her, I silently thanked God for the two people that told me, “that seat is taken,” before I sat next to that woman.

The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD: And he delighteth in his way. Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down: For the LORD upholdeth him with his hand.
— Psalm 37:23-24

I was reminded of how God guides our steps, and I was grateful to Him for guiding me to where I needed to sit. God knew I had some questions that I hadn’t gotten answered up until that point of the conference, so He orchestrated my steps. It took two rejections to get my answers. Quite simply, closed doors are just redirection, and we must embrace them. Initially they may not feel and look ideal, but they can give way to destiny- to something greater than we could have ever imagined.

So, the next time that you’re rejected for a seat, or rejected by a hoped-for love interest, rejected for a job, rejected by your boss to take on that project, whatever it is, give thanks and press into God into where He wants to guide your steps. Wherever He leads us, it’s much better for our lives than what we’re being rejected from.