How to Battle the Spirit of Rejection and Win
The spirit of rejection is an oppressive spirit that robs you of joy and peace. Oppression is defined as “mental pressure or distress.” Rejection that turns to spiritual oppression is a tactic by the enemy to push or press you down, through moods or emotions that block you from experiencing freedom and the presence of God’s love in your life.
Does feeling rejected mean that God’s love has left you? The Bible says that God’s love will never fail (see Psalm 136) and that nothing or no one can ever separate you from His love (Romans 8:38-39). Deuteronomy 31:18 reminds us that He goes before us and will never leave nor forsake us. Therefore, we must be able to discern what we feel from what is true. This comes from understanding the strategies the enemy uses in the spiritual realm.
If you’ve felt rejection, you know the devastating effects on your life. Through these experiences, the spirit of rejection can form a stronghold, causing depression and anxiety.
When our worst fears come true, we are vulnerable to believing lies from the enemy. These lies are meant to oppress us. Jesus came to set the captives free. We can only be released from rejection’s spiritual stronghold through God’s Spirit.
The Spirit of Rejection Is a Lie from the Enemy
When you understand that the spirit of rejection lies about God’s love and your worth, you can begin the process of being set free. The enemy uses the stronghold of rejection in spiritual warfare, but the Word of God can work in your life to set you free.
Let’s discover…
- How the spirit of rejection is manifested in your life
- Where does the spirit of rejection come from
- How to battle the spirit of rejection with the guidance of the Holy Spirit
How This Oppressive Spirit is Manifested in Your Life
The spirit of rejection taunts you with feelings of worthlessness. It partners with the orphan spirit to make you feel unwanted.
This stronghold of rejection makes you question your identity in Jesus and tells you that you are not fully adopted into God’s family. It battles against the spirit of sonship.
7 Manifestations of the Spirit of Rejection
- You feel despondent. There seems to be no words of encouragement that can be spoken over you to set you free from this feeling of rejection.
- You feel left out of conversations as if you are an observer, unable to interact.
- You feel that life’s opportunities have passed you by, and it is too late to take action.
- You feel rejected if those in authority do not recognize you for your accomplishments.
- You feel the spirit of envy setting in as you compare your situation with others.
- The feeling of envy and comparison partners with rejection and tells you that you were not given a fair chance in life.
- You feel the need to prove yourself, while at the same time feeling you can never measure up.
Do any of these feelings resonate with you? Understand this: Spiritual warfare is happening in your mind, will, and emotions. Though this spiritual stronghold is clever, it does not compare to the power and love of Jesus Messiah. It is His blood that was shed for you, and it will overcome the spirit of rejection.
- “… And this is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming, and is now already in the world. You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.” —1 John 4:3-4 (emphasis added)
Where Does the Spirit of Rejection Come From?
To understand how the spirit of rejection operates in Believers’ lives, you must first realize that a battle is going on. You have already taken this critical first step!
The fact that you are reading this right now speaks to the fact that you are seeking godly counsel to overcome the lies that oppress you.
These lies create depression, anxiety, doubt, and even addiction, but you must decide that these lies will no longer operate in your life. Be intentional and choose something different!
The spirit of rejection typically starts at an early age. The oppressive spirit looks for areas in your mind, will, and emotions—your soul—that desire love, acceptance, and self-worth, and then distorts and twists situations, conversations, and truth so that you will accept the lie.
God Designed You to Desire Love and Acceptance. The Enemy Distorts It.
It is God’s design to be the fulfillment of this desire. This desire is connected to the garden, where Adam and Eve experienced perfect union and connection to God. But the enemy sought to desecrate God’s creation by distorting the desires of every human, heaping shame upon us, and hoping we run far from our Creator and the help we need.
When God breathed life into Adam, He gave him the desire for love and acceptance, intent that Adam would find them in the Father’s love. But when sin entered the world, these oppressive spirits subtly took the place of God’s love in the human heart. The effects of this are devastating and often deep-rooted.
The Spirit of Rejection Is Generational
Today, we can see that the spirit of rejection is often passed down in the family line through…
- Neglect
- Selfishness
- Physical, emotional, and sexual abuse
- Drug use
- Repeated negative words and messages
- Broken marriages and families
- Inability to accept parental roles
It is through the generational curses that the oppressive spirits look for opportunities to attach to you.
We are each born with a desire to be loved. But when we do not experience it the way God designed, the enemy will attempt to accuse us of these circumstances in our family line. Then he subtly looks for opportunities for spiritual oppression to take root.
Understand that all of this is taking place in the spiritual realm. Ephesians 6 says that we are not in war with flesh and blood but with the principalities, powers, and rulers of the darkness in heavenly places (see Ephesians 6:12).
Once you understand the strategy of the enemy and the spiritual realm, you can…
- Understand how to activate the Word of God (see James 1:22-25).
- Use the Word of God to take down the enemy (see Ephesians 6:17).
- Be set free from the stronghold of rejection and live victoriously (see John 8:36).
Through the finished work of Christ Jesus on the cross, you can be victorious in the battle against the spirit of rejection. His blood was shed for you and still speaks on your behalf (see Hebrews 12:24).
The blood of Jesus has disarmed the principalities, triumphing over them (Colossians 2:14-16). You just need to apply that blood to the root of rejection!
How to Battle the Spirit of Rejection
John 10:10 tells us that these oppressive spirits from the enemy come to steal, kill, and destroy. They do this by persecuting you through your thoughts and bringing on fears and negative mindsets full of anxiety and depression.
- Begin by prayerfully asking the Holy Spirit to reveal the root cause of this oppressive spirit. He will often take you back to a memory, a moment when you made an agreement. God transforms us by renewing our minds, including healing our memories. He sometimes heals slowly and will move gently. Be open to how He wants to reveal the root of rejection in your life, trusting Him to restore what’s been stolen from you.
- Repent of the areas and times you have believed the spirit of rejection and the orphan spirit over the spirit of sonship. Take each thought the Holy Spirit reveals to you captive. Renounce it. God has sent the Spirit of His Son into your heart, the Spirit Who cries out, “Abba, Father” (Galatians 4:6). Ask the Spirit of Jesus within you to call on your Heavenly Father for rescue–He will help you begin to believe and know that you belong to Him.
- Declare your identity in Jesus. You are a new creation in Him. The old is gone, the new has come. The places of shame and regret that the enemy has tried to tie you to no longer have a hold on you. Declare the power of the new thing God is doing in your life! (2 Corinthians 5:17)
- Stay in the Word of God. Remember, in consistency lies the victory! Spend time with God daily and meditate, filling your mind with who He says you are. Journal scriptures that the Holy Spirit highlights to you. Consider writing them on notecards and putting them in places you’ll see regularly – specifically ones that speak of your new identity in Jesus as a son or daughter of God, forever accepted by Him!
- Thank God for all He has done and will do as He promises to set you free. As a Believer in Jesus, the Spirit of God is within you. And where He is, there is freedom (2 Corinthians 3:17)! As you surrender more to Him each day, you’ll experience the fulfillment of this promise.
The spirit of sonship is battling for you against the spirit of rejection and the orphan spirit. You have a choice. Which one will you come into agreement with today?
God desires to bring you greater deliverance!