Redirection Not Rejection
Psalm 16:7 — I will bless the Lord who guides me; even at night my heart instructs me.
Rejection hurts, doesn’t it?
Yeah, you know, I had been applying for full-time jobs when I moved home to Louisiana. And I was standing in my kitchen one morning and heard my phone ping. When I checked it, I saw these nine words.
“We’re sorry, we’ve decided to move in another direction.”
Oh that stung. It was a job I knew I was qualified for and confident I could do well. But there I was staring at my phone like a door had just slammed in my face.
Rejection makes you question everything. Your timing, your worth. Was I really called to move back home?
But I sat down and breathed. I let myself feel the sting because pretending it doesn’t hurt doesn’t help. Somewhere between that breath and my second sip of coffee, I started to sense God quietly steadying my heart.”
Though man had rejected me, God was redirecting me with love.
Scripture doesn’t promise approval from every hiring committee or affirmation from every inbox. But it does promise guidance. The Lord gives counsel, and even in the quiet of the night, the heart can be instructed and steadied by Him.
I realized something important: the steps that felt like setbacks were still steps. And they’re still ordered by God. He has a hope and a future planned for me, and He knows what He is doing.
So if you’re holding one of those emails today, maybe take a breath before you delete it. Let the hurt be honest, but don’t let it write the ending. Remember that you’re not behind. You’re not forgotten. And you’re not walking alone.
Because closed doors don’t cancel your calling; they sometimes clarify it.
A MOMENT TO REFLECT
- Have you experienced a recent rejection that left you questioning your direction or worth?
- How do you typically respond when something doesn’t go the way you hoped?
- Can you remember a time when a “closed door” actually led to something better?
- What might it look like for you to trust that God is guiding you—even when the path doesn’t make sense?
- How can you create space to listen for God’s quiet direction in your life this week?
