Introduction to Session 3
Read Uninvited, Lysa TerKeurst – Chapters 6-8
Following notes are taken from https://uninvitedstudy.wordpress.com/2017/06/15/session-3-the-yoke-of-god-is-freedom/
In Case You Missed It:
Verse Of The Week – “The Lord is my light and my salvation- whom shall I fear? The Lord is my stronghold of my life- of whom shall I be afraid?” Psalm 27:1
Ask yourself:
- What insights did you discover in the personal study or in chapter 6-8 of the Uninvited book?
- How did the last session affect your daily life or your relationship with God?
Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is FREEDOM. We can remember that when we come into situations and handle the rejections we face in this world with the Spirit of the Lord that we will find freedom from the negative emotions that rejection causes.
This week, we talked about closed doors. Has there ever been a door that has been shut, to the point where it’s been locked and the key thrown away? A door of rejection completely slammed in your face? That can look like many things for you…such as an ended friendship, a broken relationship, or even family riffs. It may look like a terminated job, a declined position, or rejection from someone that would’ve furthered your dreams. Instead, you begin to wonder if the dream that God has placed on your heart is worth believing in anymore… because all you’ve been receiving is rejection.
Sometimes God allows a closed door of rejection by man to lead us in a redirection. Rejection by man DOES NOT equal rejection from God. Rejection may be your projection. Sometimes God shuts doors because it’s the only way to get our minds to focus back on Him and His purpose for our lives. We must remember that when we are walking in accordance with the will of the Lord, rejection on this earth may equate to our protection or closed doors that may lead to new opportunities that wouldn’t have occurred otherwise.
There are so many stories of rejection experienced by people in the Bible that can guide us in how we should respond to our own rejection. King David was no stranger to rejection. His father assumed that any of his other sons was more likely to be royal material than David (1 Samuel 16:1-13). He was overlooked by man, but handpicked by God. Then King Saul drove David out of his court and set about trying to kill him as a rival. David’s men were also no strangers to rejection (1 Samuel 22:1-2).
Read David’s story of rejection in 1 Samuel 25:2-44.
David got furious at a wealthy landowner named Nabal who rejected him. The man’s wife, Abigail intervened to stop David from killing Nabal and his men. Nabal then died by God’s decree, and David married Abigail because he so admired the way she had handled the tense situation.
David overreacted to Nabal’s rejection and was about to step out of God’s will to take revenge. When Nabal said, “Who is this son of Jesse?” that triggered David’s mind to pull the rejection from his past into this present situation. He was enraged to the point of killing someone. But Abigail intervened. She gave David three gifts in her speech.
- Attention – 1 Samuel 25:25
- Intention – 1 Samuel 25:26-27
- Prevention – 1 Samuel 25:30-31
Abigail got David to shift his attention from the wrong thing to something better. Think of a time when you got rejected. What were you paying attention to? What should you have been paying attention to? Abigail got David to refocus his real intention in the situation (1 Samuel 25:26-27). Remember a time where you reacted poorly to a rejection you experienced. Think about your original intention. What happened to that intention once you were rejected? Did the emotion of the situation make you say or think things that you otherwise would have never expressed? Abigail’s third gift to David was to move him toward prevention. David’s reaction to rejection was anger and desire for revenge. What emotions did you have when you were rejected? How did you need to be prevented from acting on those emotions? Abigail got David to think about what the consequences of his actions might be. What are some consequences you can think of that may help you not react this way in the future?
We, too, need to watch where we pay Attention, remember our true Intention, and enter into Prevention.
David at some point learned that instead of wearing the yoke of rejection, he could wear the yoke of the Lord’s freedom and live in fullness. Late in his life, when a man pursued him with curses, he had a humble reaction without vengefulness (2 Samuel 16:5-14).
Read Psalm 23.
Psalm 23 embodies a God-focused response to rejection. It says with God there is fullness. There is no lack. Nothing can be added or subtracted by human acceptance or rejection. With the fullness of God we’re free to let humans be humans and let God be God.
The peace of our soul doesn’t rise and fall with unpredictable people or situations. The peace of our soul is tethered to all that God is.