The results are in

A label that tries to cling to you is:

REJECTION

Jesus longs for you to move from feeling cast aside and disregarded to accepted and valuable.

"But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light."

— 1 Peter 2:9

So what does it really mean?

Rejection can point us toward two different paths. On the one hand we become extremely competitive and chase success so that if we are not loved, at least we will be admired, envied or needed. We will seek achievement at the cost of our own detriment, sacrificing health, sleep and forgoing meaningful relationships. Any criticism results in defensiveness and any compliment is received with skepticism. The other path says, “You won’t be accepted, so why even try?” leading to isolation, depression, and chasing false comforts to help numb the pain. Both paths ultimately lead to destruction.

Hello there!

BEFORE WE GET TOO FAR INTO THIS...

Allow me to introduce myself, my name is Erica Wiggenhorn.

I believed the lie that people would only accept me if I were perfect and didn’t require anything of them. So, I often lived trying to be all things to all people. Worn out and exhausted, my resentment grew when my relationships ultimately felt one sided. I found it hard to believe God would accept me without working hard to please Him and earn His favor.

The Bible teaches us that God loves us unconditionally- even while we still lived in rebellion against God, He loved us enough to send His Son to die for us! God pursues us with His kindness. When I grew to know Him more intimately, I experienced the consistency of His love more fully. God uses the term “steadfast love” to describe Himself repeatedly in Scripture, meaning a love that does not nor cannot change.

Since battling rejection remains a continual temptation for me, I’ve developed habits in my life to keep my mind properly focused on Christ’s love and acceptance of me. Even when I make mistakes.

I’ve made it my life’s work to simplify the Bible: I’m here to show you how to apply Scripture to YOUR life! Let’s move from nice thoughts and simple platitudes to getting real and practical. Jesus died to give us new LIFE!

🙌 Together, we’ve got this 🙌

Three tips to move from feeling rejected to accepted and valuable:

Meditate on Scripture & Pray Scripture Filled Prayers

(Heads up! I’ve crafted a personal prayer specifically for you and it’s headed to your inbox soon!)

Keeping Scripture before you helps balance out your emotions. Truth is your anchor when a storm of emotions starts to swirl around you. Download these two free lockscreens to keep your desire for wisdom always before you:

Psalm 27: 1, 10
Lamentations 3:22-23

Share them on IG and tag me @ericawiggenhorn. I can’t tell you how much it will bless me to know these encouraged you!

Utilize a prayer journal.

Prayer can reduce anxiety and enhance mental clarity. Setting aside the same time every day, before you study, can calm your nervous system, rewire neural pathways and set you up to get the most out of the wisdom found in Scripture. Writing out your feelings in response to your circumstances and what you found in Scripture will help sort out your emotions and apply truth to them.

Our desire to belong and be loved is woven into our DNA– God designed us to experience both through our relationship with Him, our Father, and with one another. But once sin entered the world, we found ourselves living in a system where we need to prove our worth and when we don’t meet others’ expectations, they withhold their love and acceptance from us.

Pausing daily to reflect on God’s great love for you reminds you that you are never alone and God will never abandon you.. Start your day with these journal prompts to reorder your thoughts toward the peace Jesus longs to give you.

LORD, today You are my comforter and defender. Today I feel vulnerable regarding:

I confess that this fear denies Your love for me and protection of me. Specifically, I confess that:

Jesus, today I choose to focus my mind on these promises in your Word and what I know to be true of You:

Engage in these 3 Conversations with A Trusted Friend / Mentor / Pastor

Conversation One

Examine where your rejection originates. Ask them to pray with you to invite the Holy Spirit to reveal the glue that caused this label to fasten itself over your heart and mind. Most likely rejection began to take root in your life through one of four ways:

Something that happened to you that caused you to feel the sharp sting of rejection
You come from a home where people withheld their time, attention or love from you when you disappointed them or they disregarded your needs entirely.
You had people place demeaning labels upon you and you fear that might be true (i.e. you are not good enough, a disappointment, you were compared to someone else and you fell short of their expectations)
You created unhealthy coping mechanisms to secure being needed or to prove your worth

Conversation Two

Confess the rejection as it actually is: a sin against God and idolatry. Rejection prompts us to value acceptance from others over God’s acceptance of us. We value our human relationships more than our relationship with God. We must confess this and ask for His power to become released from it. Ask the Holy Spirit to fill us with full assurance of our adoption as God’s chosen child (Ephesians 1:4-6.)

Conversation Three

Actively move away from real or perceived rejection by intentionally pursuing spiritual disciplines to renew your mind from lies to truth.

(More on that below!)

"You, precious one, are fully known and fully loved. Forever loved. Faithfully loved, regardless of what you do or don’t do. Let that sink in. Bask in this truth for a moment. Jesus says you are fully known: the dreams in your soul, the thoughts in your head, the feeling in your heart, the harsh words that have been spoken over you. I know them all and I love you."

From Unexplainable Jesus: Rediscovering the God You Thought You Knew by Erica Wiggenhorn

A Very Special Resource Just for You

Special Offer

Go to our store and enter code: JESUS at checkout to receive 20% off of Unexplainable Jesus.

THE ONE THING YOU NEED TO LEVEL UP RIGHT NOW

Jesus delights in you. Whether you’re worn thin, filled with questions, or desperate to experience God’s love, come encounter Unexplainable Jesus. Come sit at His feet and realize the belonging you’ve always wanted is right there beside Him.

P.S. Expect to see me in your inbox, weekly, with insights and support to help you continue to apply the beautiful, ancient and sacred Word to speak into your modern day life! Your personal prayer should arrive soon!