Satan will seize upon every sinful reaction to the hurts of
rejection, and evil spirits will enter that person. Unclean spirits will link themselves together
to form a demonic chain of oppression.
As more and more rejections occur, more unclean spirits enter and become
linked together in a person’s life. The
rejection becomes one with the person.
We must identify the reactions to rejection, as it opens
doors to the demonic. Wrong reactions to
rejection cause us to lash out at others in confrontation of anger, bitterness,
rebellion, self-pity, insecurity, fears, which can lead to depression (despair/hopelessness, Anxiety (fear) in the heart of man causes
depression Proverbs 12:25).
Rebellion
– Rejection can always be found to be the root of rebellion and can start at an
early age. Most have not been loved and
many have been rejected by their own parents and others. Misbehavior as children have gone uncorrected
and their behavior becomes disrespectful: “If they don’t love us, why should we
respect them?” When those in leadership
use their authority abusively, it is easy for us to lose respect and become
disobedient. Rebellion will produce
self-will, independence, unteachableness, unpersuadableness, unreasonable, stubbornness,
selfishness and pride- fullness. Rebellion is an antichrist spirt and it can be
identified as witchcraft (For rebellion
is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity (wickedness) and idolatry 1 Samuel 15:23).
Bitterness/Anger
– Pursue peace with all people, and
holiness, without which no one will see the Lord: looking carefully lest anyone
fall short of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up
cause trouble, and by this many become defiled, Hebrews 12:14-15. Bitterness is an evil fruit produced by one’s
unwillingness to forgive another’s trespasses.
Un-forgiveness is without excuse.
Jesus taught that anyone who asked His forgiveness for their
insurmountable sin debt and then refused to forgive another in the smallest of
matters, would be turned over to “the tormentors” (Then his lord, after that he had called him, said unto him, O thou
wicked servant, I forgave thee all that debt, because thou desiredst me: Shouldest
not thou also have had compassion on thy fellow servant, even as I had pity on
thee? And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till
he should pay all that was due unto him. So likewise, shall my heavenly Father
do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not everyone his brother their
trespasses, Matthew 18:32-35. The
tormentors are evil spirits and to be under the power of evil spirits is a curse. The only way to escape the curse brought on
by unforgiveness is through repentance toward God and forgiveness of all who
need forgiving. We must forgive the
curser.
Bitterness and unforgiveness penalizes both the offended and
the offender (If you forgive the sins of
any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained”
John 20:23). When unforgiveness
prevails, two persons become entangled in bondage. The unforgiving person is held in a broken
relationship due to bitterness and anger and their unforgiveness is projected onto
the other person.
As the root of bitterness grows stronger, through repeated rejections
and feeding on the hurts, it produces huge anger, hatred, retaliation,
violence and both murder of the tongue and in extreme cases, physical murder. A companion spirit to bitterness is a memory
of recall. It is also known as record of
wrongs that keeps the painful memoires of the past alive and the hurts will continue
to be reviewed in one’s mind. Bitterness
is a weed that invades our soul and we must take to heart what it says in Ephesians 4:31-32 Get rid of all bitterness,
rage, anger, harsh words, and slander, as well as all types of evil
behavior. Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another,
just as God through Christ has forgiven you, and the warning in Hebrews 12:15 Looking carefully lest anyone
fall short of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up cause
trouble, and by this many become defiled.
Self-Pity – “Nobody doesn’t love me.” I have found in ministry that the
self-pity spirit is the least known and understood of all spirits. Most do not discern the self-pity spirit working
in them and most in ministry do not recognize the self-pity working in them. Self-pity is an inward reaction to
rejection. Self-pity is a form of
self-affliction whereby one permits themselves to indulge in thoughts of unfairness
until they become thoroughly miserable. Self-pity is a consequence of people being
hurt causing depression (hopelessness/despair) and oppression (spirit of stupor
“God has given them a spirit of stupor, Eyes
that they should not see and ears that they should not hear,” Romans 11:8
Escapism – The Psalmist, David
expressed the desire to escape from his oppressors in these words, “So I said, “Oh, that I had wings like a
dove! I would fly away and be at rest,” Psalm 55:6. Many of us know the feeling of just
wanting to get away from it all. When the
circumstances of life turn sour, it is a temptation to run away or to hide. They
shut people out. Hurt people often
become escape artists who devise clever ways of escaping the unpleasantness of
life.
A common form of escapism is day dreaming whereby a person
creates his own pleasant world and live in that world through their
imagination. They shut out their mind
the reality of stressful (fearful) circumstances and withdraw into unreality.
Another route of escape is through sleep. As long as one stays in bed, hiding under the
convers, they are not having to face responsibilities or unpleasant things. Therefore, sleep can become an addiction and obsession. A futile attempt to sidestep life’s problems,
all of which leads to oppression.
I know a person who had a terrorist of a father and at an
early age he would find ways to avoid his father for months on end even though
they lived in the same house. He was always
extremely fearful of the mere physical encounter with his father. In essence, he went into hiding in his own
house to avoid the fear brought on by his father.
Addictions
– Why do most, if not all have some level of addiction? Addictions have their root in unloving. Addictions happen because people are trying to
fill the void of not feeling worthy or worthy to be loved. Rejection, abandonment, guilt shame,
self-condemnation, and hurts are central to addictions.
Any addiction, whether to alcohol, drugs, prescription
medicines, pornography, shopping, work alcoholic, gambling, cigarettes, drugs, alcohol,
shopping, or even food/diet, is a form of idolatry. The first commandment is, “You shall not have any other gods before
Me.” The second commandment is, “you
shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the Lord your God, am a
jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the
third and fourth generations of those who hate Me,” 20:3,5. Point to know here
with addictions, is we have to deal with generational wickedness (iniquities)
and they can go back hundreds and even thousands of years.
When a person is addicted, they are really bowing down and
serving the addiction as their god. It is the sin of idolatry. They become a
slave to it and they are held in bondage. Jesus said, “Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin, John
8:34.
Inferiority – Inferiority is closely
related to rejection. One who is rejected,
who is put down by others, is prone to put themselves down. When they compare themselves with others,
they evaluate themselves as inferior.
Whey they take inventory of their capabilities, they judge themselves to
be inadequate. In God’s sight no person is greater than another, for there is no partiality with God, Romans
2:11. God has given each of us our
abilities and responsibilities.
Insecurity – There is security in
love. When our earthly father loves us,
he conveys to us an understanding of the Heavenly Father’s Love and it is easy
for us to believe that our Heavenly Father loves us too. The person who knows beyond any doubt that God
loves them will have stability in their life.
On the other hand, the person who is not loved by those who should love them
is prone to doubt even God’s love. The
resultant insecurity produces fear. The fear of not feeling loved. Unfortunately, we have generation after
generation who were not taught God’s love and we are tormented as it says in 1 John 4:18 “because fear involves torment”.
We need His perfect love to cast out all
fears of unloving, “but perfect love
casts out fear.” Our security rests in God’s Love. When we are confident that God loves us, fear
is cast out.
Hopelessness
– The individual who sees no prospect of being loved is a like person trapped
in a vast desert with no water and no hope to survive. The one wounded by rejection is without water
and they begin to dry up inside. Their
hopelessness leads to discouragement, despair, dejection, defeat, and depression. Without hope of being loved, there is no joy
and no desire to live. A spirit of death
enters and when one comes into agreement with death it causes one to go into a
lower level called oppression, also called a spirit of stupor. It is very
difficult to bring those out of their stupor because they have “Eyes that they should not see and ears that
they should not hear,” Romans 11:8.
The antidote for unloving is God’s perfect love. When one
finds love, he finds hope. Loving relationships are like wells of living water,
especially our relationship with Jesus who said, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink” John 7:37. When
we give Godly love to another, we are giving them a cup of cold water in the name
of Jesus. The hopeless will be replaced
by our Godly love. One who needs refreshing
love from others, must not sit idly waiting for others to take the initiative. Those who feel hopeless, desire to be loved
and we should pour out Godly love in abundance.
Defensiveness
– A wounded person can be very sensitive and can bite just as a wounded dog can
bite you, “But if you bite and devour
one another, beware lest you be consumed by one another,” Galatians 5:15. Defensiveness expresses itself in
criticism and judgmentalism.
Judgmentalism takes the position: judge others who have hurt you, and judge
others who have judged you. Instead of
providing security, judgmentalism invites retaliation from others, “Judge not, that you be not judged. For with what judgment you judge, you will be
judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you Matthew,”
7:1-2. Judgementalism blinds one’s
eyes to their own faults. They become
self-deceived and can only see the faults of others.
Judgmental people are prone to project their own faults onto
others. An example: one accusing others
of not being a loving person when in fact they are not a loving person. This is a transfer of blame and it is a deception.
When we have been trespassed against, it is not our responsibility
to stand up for our rights and to justify ourselves, “‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I tell you not to
resist an evil person. But whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the
other to him also, Matthew 5:38-39. Need
we tear down others in an effort to build ourselves up or justify our arguments? Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome
evil with good, Romans 12:21.
Distrust
and Disrespect – Trust is a bridge that unites one person with
another. How can one trust and respect
those who have who have wounded them by rejection, betrayal, abandonment, or
unfaithfulness? When trust has been
destroyed, the relationship is destroyed.
Trust can be reestablished, but it can only be accomplished with great
effort and great caution. The rebuilding
of trust is a process and it takes a lot of time, patience, persistence, and forgiveness.
The torment of distrust and disrespect must be rooted out
and overcome by trust in God. As one
becomes secure in God’s love, he will be able to endure other’s injustices
without suffering inward repercussions.
Distrust and disrespect cannot be excused or justified. The one who maintains
respect, even though abused, finds favor with God. if, when ye do well, and suffer for it, ye take it patiently, this is
acceptable with God, 1 Peter 2:20.
Hardness – When someone who has been abused and forms a shell of protection,
they develop a “turtle personality.” It is hard and impenetrable. They say “I won’t be run over and hurt by
other people any longer. I am tough and
I won’t let anyone get through to me.”
When other people are trying to do us harm, we forget that God is our Refuge
and Strength, our Rock, and Fortress.
Instead, we build a hard shell around ourselves and withdraw into a self-constructed
defense mechanism. The problem with our hardness
is that it robs us of compassion. Thus, we
are hindered from fulfilling our ministry to others, Finally, all of you be of one mind, having compassion for one another;
love as brothers, be tenderhearted, be courteous, 1 Peter 3:8.
Record of
Wrongs – Rejection has many companion spirits attached to it. Unloving, hurts, unforgiveness, criticism, anger,
rage, slander, self-pity to name a few.
All of them are fueled by a record of wrongs against those people who
they feel did them wrong. Instead of forgiving those who offended them, they choose
relive all those wrongs throughout their lives.
God is very clear about our record of wrongs in Ephesians 4:31-32 Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh
words, and slander, as well as all types of evil behavior. Instead, be kind to
each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ
has forgiven you.
We have reviewed some of the most common reactions to
rejection. Each represents a departure
from God’s Word and constitutes sin and sin becomes an open invitation for Satan
to bring destruction. Cain’s sacrifice was refused by God which was rejection
to Cain. God warned Cain: So, the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you
angry? And why has your countenance fallen?
If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin
lies at the door. And its desire is for you, but you should rule over it,
Genesis 4:6-7.”
Tony Sanchez, 01-11-2019
