The Difference Between Rejection and Not Being Chosen

In Acts 1:13-26 we find the apostles, along with 109 disciples meeting in the upper room to discuss who would take Judas’ place. In verse 23, ‘…they…nominated…Justus and Matthias.’ After praying they were then led to choose Matthias. When I read that, I began to think about Justus and what he must have felt. In that moment he could have been upset and discouraged. He could have said he was going to have nothing to do with the apostle, the ministry, or even worse, with God. Yet he remained, even though he was not chosen.

I thought about what that must have taken for him to stay and then I saw the bright side of things. Even though he wasn’t chosen as the 12th apostle, he was still promoted. Acts 1:15 says that there were 120 believers around that time; the 11 apostles and 109 disciples, which meant Justus may not have gotten the apostleship, but he was number one amongst his peers which meant that within that rejection was promotion. But the Spirit of the Lord quickly checked me and showed me that there’s a difference between being rejected and not being chosen.

There’s a difference between being rejected and not being chosen.

The fact that Justus wasn’t chosen for the apostleship wasn’t a matter of rejection. God just didn’t call nor create him to be an apostle. Therefore, the apostles didn’t reject him. He just wasn’t created to operate and function in that particular office. And thus we see 1 Corinthians 12:29-31 in action when it reads,

‘Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Are all workers of miracles? Do all have gifts of healings? Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret?

– 1 Corinthians 12:29-31

The answer to that question is no! Though he wasn’t created to be an apostle, there were still 11 other gifts of the spirit (1 Cor 12:8-10) and four other offices (i.e., teacher, prophet, Pastor, evangelist) to which he could have been called and created for. Again, he could have been upset with the apostles, quit the church, and left God but he stayed and remained among the 120 and is known to this day as a founding member of the first church in the history of the world.

So the next time you experience rejection ask yourself is this something or someone God has called me to? Because it just might be that you are with someone or doing something in which you were never created to operate and/or function.

Pray this with me: Heavenly Father, I've had rejection issues in the past and see that maybe it wasn't me. Lord, please show me those people and/or supposed opportunities in which You created me to be. In Jesus' name.

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