By Alexia

Read: Numbers 2:1-3:51, Mark 11:27-12:17, Psalm 47:1-9, Proverbs 10:24-25

Sing praises to God, sing praises; sing praises to our King, sing praises!
Psalm 47:6

Relate:
One of the greatest fears anyone could ever face is the fear of rejection. Some strive to be accepted by everyone. Hoping for the impossible that the world will like us and accept what or who we are. Some reject the world first to protect themselves from having rejection turned on them. Rejection looks different for everyone but everyone fears it. However, there are some who turn the world’s rejection of them into their greatest strengths. I have faced countless rejections throughout my life. None bigger than myself. I’m constantly rejecting who I am and who God has created me to be. I pick apart my life little by little every day and forget who my creator is. When I reject myself I reject God. That’s hardly fair when in Mark 11 God says “ The stone that the builder rejected has now become the cornerstone.” He never rejects his people. He never turns his back on them like the world and writes them off as weird, or unimportant. Instead, he uses the rejected to build up great foundations of faith. Who am I to reject myself when God will never reject me. I was so focused on rejection from the world and being the “perfect” me that I forgot I don’t live for the acceptance of the world but for the acceptance of God. If the world rejects me then that means I as a Christian am doing something right. God teaches us to not be of the world but in the world serving and preaching his good news.

In Psalm 47:6 it says, “Sing praises to God, sing praises; sing praises to our King, sing praises!” I was given a voice to preach and to be an example of God here on earth but if I spend all my time worrying over rejection and being “perfect” I forget to praise God for his good works. Ironic that God’s own creation can become so focused on the world and themselves that they forget to worship the very being that created them. Psalm 47:6 says to sing praises four times in a thirteen-word sentence. If that isn’t a clear example of what God created us to do then I don’t know what is. In my own life, I worship through my voice. For others, it can look different. Sometimes people get focused on the SING part and forget the PRAISES part. When you look up the Hebrew meaning of sing it’s interesting to find that it means more than just sing. It can mean to chant, to compose poetry, to whistle, and even to hoot. God does not care about how you worship and praise only that you praise. When it says sing praises what it really means is to make your praise known to God, through your voice, and the words in your heart.

React:
It’s easy to say you’ll praise God or that you will accept that you will be a rejection of the world in order to be a cornerstone of God. It’s harder to know how to live this out. The praising is a bit easier so let’s start with that. Praise has many different forms. Some do it through prayer, through serving, or through singing. Some even do so by speaking in tongues. Everyone has their own style and preference. The trick is figuring out what yours is. This can be hard in a world that tells you what you should be and how you should do things. The best way to find your way is to pray. When God is speaking to you you’ll know. He will show you what connects to your heart.

The rejection part is a lot harder. We constantly try to be accepted by those around us and conform to the patterns of the world. I hate to be the bearer of bad news but as a Christian, you will never be accepted by the world. If you are then perhaps it’s time to re-evaluate your faith. The world is full of evil and pain. It is broken and corrupt. Our job is to be the light that shines in all this darkness. We are not meant to fit in and be accepted. We are meant to stand out and give a spotlight to God. The world will try to shut you down every time and you will face rejection, hardship, backlash, hatred even. But you must remember that at the end of the day, it is not the world’s rejection that matters, but God’s acceptance. When you reach the end of your life would you rather have the acceptance of the world or of God. Will he look at you on judgment day and tell you “Well done thy good and faithful servant”, or will he say, “My child why have you why have you turned away from me.” To live as God’s cornerstone is to reject the world’s rejection of you and keep loving and serving God even when no one else accepts you for it.

Respond:

Dear God,
I fall short of the glory of God. I run away from you and reject you. I forget you and praise other idols in my life. And yet you keep chasing after me. You never stop running after my heart. I will fail a million times, but Lord, always help me to find my way back to you. To praise you in the good and bad. To reject the world and become your cornerstones. Use me to build up your kingdom. I will not be of this world. I will not hide my praise. I will sing it out to you. I will run to you the way you run to me. When I stumble help me find my feet so I can keep chasing after you. You are a good good God. I will praise you.
Amen