You receive your value from God – not from another person. Whether a person shames or rejects you does not change that you are precious to God (John 16:27). God even knows how many hairs are in your head. Matthew 10:30: “But the very hairs of your head are all numbered.” 1 Peter 5:7: Therefore, “cast all your care (of fear and shame) upon Him, for He cares for you.” 

When you feel rejected, immediately pray to God. We recommend memorizing Psalms 91:2,4,11,15 (NKJV), 2 “I will say of the LORD, ‘He is my refuge and my fortress; My God, in Him I will trust.’ … 4 He shall cover you with His feathers, and under His wings you shall take refuge; His truth shall be your shield and buckler. … 11 For He shall give His angels charge over you, to keep you in all your ways. … 15 ‘He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him…’”

When we embrace these scriptural truths, God strengthens us to endure shame and rejection. Jesus was shamed and rejected by people. Isaiah 53:3 (NKJV): “He is despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from him; he was despised, and we did not esteem him.” 

But Jesus maintained his faith and obedience to God through great emotional suffering.  Hebrews 5:8: “though he was a son, yet he learned obedience by the things which he suffered.” Obedience through suffering changes us. It transforms us into Christ’s character. Remember, “If we suffer, we shall also reign with him…” 2 Timothy 2:12. This is a promise.

Sometimes, shame and rejection are God telling you to go somewhere else or to make other friends or to work at a different job. It may be God closing one door and encouraging you to move on. Matthew 10:14: “And whoever will not receive you nor hear your words, when you depart from that house or city, shake off the dust from your feet.” “To shake off the dust” is a Hebrew idiom meaning have nothing to do with them. Leave them alone and move on.

Only God knows the future. Isaiah 46:10: “Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times things that are not yet done…” Therefore, the only way not to fear the future is to put your life into God’s hands and to trust Him. This develops faith. We remember, “without faith it is impossible to please Him…” Hebrews 11:6. As the Apostle John wrote, “… this is the victory that has overcome the world – our faith” 1 John 5:4.

Finally, “God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind” 2 Timothy 1:7. If God has not given us fear, who has? The devil has given us the spirit of fear. Instead, “Have faith in God” Mark 11:22.

Additional Resource:
Christian Questions Podcast
Episode #1336: “How Do We Cope With Feeling Shame?”
Understanding the role shame should and should not play in our lives
Preview Video
CQ Rewind Show Notes