How Does Rejection Affect Us Spiritually? The A-B-C Series on Ancestral Influences

Healing Ancestral Wounds

By Gena Barnhill @BarnhillGena

No one escapes life without experiencing rejection. Encounters with two people during the last two weeks left me feeling unappreciated, devalued, and dismissed. I allowed the spirit of rejection to take hold and needed to close that door so the enemy would not gain a foothold. I needed to stand strong in knowing who I am in Christ—my spiritual identity. Others may reject me, but the Lord promises never to leave me.

The Seeds of Rejection

The spirit of rejection can be passed down the family lineage if ancestors gave the enemy access, knowingly or unknowingly. Once we recognize this negative ancestral influence, we can forgive our relatives for partnering with rejection, renounce rejection in our lives, and command it to leave in Jesus’s name. Then ask the Holy Spirit to fill us with His love and assurance of our position in God’s family in place of rejection.

The seeds of rejection can be planted while a child is still in the womb if the child was not wanted or if abortion was contemplated or sought. Rejection can result from unfortunate circumstances, such as a lengthy hospitalization or military deployment that separated families and caused them to believe they were rejected.

One of Satan’s ploys is to plant the seeds of rejection in God’s children. His goal is to keep us separated from God. Even a little rejection, can cause an emotional wound that opens the door for the enemy to use to keep us in bondage. When we recognize our reaction to perceived rejection may have opened a door for the enemy, we can close it with the Lord’s help. Often the root of rejection is a lie we have believed about our value and worth.

How Does Rejection Affect Us Spiritually The A-B-C Series on Ancestral Influences #rejection #healing Share on X

Possible Causes for Experiencing Rejection:

  • Unwanted pregnancy
  • A child is not the gender the parents desired
  • Adoption
  • Abandonment
  • Death of a parent or parents
  • Abuse
  • Compared to other siblings
  • Turbulence in the home
  • Disability
  • Divorce
  • Peer rejection
  • Unfaithfulness

Responses to Perceived Rejection:

  • Anger
  • Bitterness
  • Self-pity
  • Fear
  • Guilt
  • Jealousy
  • Perfectionism
  • Judgmentalism
  • Rebellion
  • Low self-esteem
  • Defensiveness
  • Hopelessness
  • Building walls to protect ourselves

When we feel rejected, we try to protect ourselves from experiencing emotional pain.

Strategies We Have Seen People Use to Protect Themselves:

  • Make inner vows such as “No one will ever hurt me again,” or “I won’t let anyone ever get close to me again.”
  • Pretend they don’t care.
  • Defend themselves with anger.
  • Go overboard being nice to others so they will like them.
  • Try to be perfect, so others won’t have reason to reject them.

We mistakenly believe our inner vows will protect us from further rejection and emotional pain because no one will control or hurt us again. Instead, the walls we built for protection block our intimacy with each other and with the Lord. The walls we created to shield us keep us chained in bondage and keep us from our true freedom in Christ.

Over seven years ago, I was blindsided by the disparaging comments yelled at me over the phone by a close relative. Intense feelings of rejection surfaced, and I could not fathom what provoked the person to speak so harshly to me. In my prayer time later that evening, I cried out to the Lord telling Him how deeply hurt I was. I sensed the Lord say to me, “Dear daughter, don’t you know I was despised and rejected by those close to me?” I immediately knew He understood my pain. I released it to Him and He healed my heart.

The prophecy in Isaiah 53 tells us Jesus would be rejected. He understands our pain and suffering and endured rejection and a cruel death on the cross for us. Jesus willingly took our problems, hurts, wounds, and rejections upon Himself so we could be set free.

He was despised and rejected by men,
a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief;
and as one from whom men hide their faces
he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

Surely he has borne our griefs
and carried our sorrows;
yet we esteemed him stricken,
smitten by God, and afflicted.
 But he was pierced for our transgressions;
he was crushed for our iniquities;
upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace,
and with his wounds we are healed (Isaiah 53:3-5).

The antidote for rejection is drawing close to the One who will never leave or forsake us—Jesus. He understands our pain and is waiting for us to release it to Him so He can heal our hearts. Jesus came to heal the brokenhearted and bind our wounds (See Psalms 147:3).

Before I share a prayer with you, I would love for you to have an opportunity to share your thoughts. In what ways have you seen rejection afflict people? Be sure to share your observations in our Facebook Group Healing Prayer Discussion.

We are all stronger when we learn from each other. Looking forward to your input.

Blessings,
Gena

Prayer to Walk Victoriously 

Lord, I ask You to forgive me for yielding to the spirit of rejection by believing the enemy’s lies and trying to protect myself. You alone are my protector and defender. Help me to stop comparing myself to others. Remind me of who You say I am—Your beloved child. Help me to truly understand my spiritual identity—who I am in Christ. Thank you for Your sacrifice on the cross for my freedom from captivity and for healing emotional wounds from rejection. Amen.

In case you missed the rest of the Ancestral Influences Series, here is the link to the Archives:

https://simpleeffectiveprayer.com/category/healing-ancestral-wounds/