Finding significance in God

I’ve been processing some pain lately, and I’ve felt the need to trace it to its root. When we have recurring spontaneous pain, it’s like the warning light on a car’s dashboard. It’s a sure sign that there’s something going on under the hood that needs our attention.

Ultimately, exactly how we are co-laborers with God in our own salvation and the salvation of the world is a mystery. But we have enough light on the matter to be able to function and bear fruit. On a practical level, I am increasingly convinced that precious little, if any, spiritual advancement happens automatically. We need to be diligent about it. We need to direct our attention to it and press in. When we find obstacles or hindrances, we need to devote ourselves to their removal.

And so as I was making breakfast this morning, out of the blue came a twang of spiritual pain. I tried to rush past it, but then I realized that I needed to deal with whatever was behind it. So I asked, “what was that?”, and it was quickly revealed to me that the pain was from rejection.

Immediately I saw my error. Rejection cannot hurt me unless I am trying to gain my significance from man’s acceptance. If I direct my need for acceptance and significance to God alone, what can man’s rejection do to me? And that is exactly what God wants us to do.