I’ve been thinking about the word “replace” lately. No one likes the shaft. Honestly, replacement runs rampant and loyalty is scarce these days. It seems people get replaced as frequently as light bulbs. If someone is thought to be no longer suitable, beneficial or valuable for whatever reason, the person whether that be a spouse, employee, or friend gets kicked to the curb. Ouch, but true.
Replacement follows rejection. Rejection in and of itself can be debilitating. One of the saddest stories in the Bible is that of Tamar. After she was raped she said, “This evil of sending me away is worse than the other that you did to me” (2 Samuel 13:16).This is my take on the story:
“I don’t want you” burned so hot
it scalded her mind all the way to her heart
as she swallowed the words he said.
As if it were not bad enough
that he forced his way with an unwanted touch,
when it was over, he tossed her out of his bed!
Out of his house, door locked behind
Tamar laid her head in her hands and cried.
These tears of shame were the first of many to shed.
Flashbacks of the night cursed her mind.
She knew she’d never recover, not even in time.
Voices teased, “Reject!” loudly in her head.
She asks, “Why?” torturing herself.
She thought he needed her and went to help.
She didn’t know he planned to use her instead.
He needed her? No. He was sick with lust.
Somehow he got that confused with love!
When he got what he wanted, she was good as dead.
Her days on past were lived in wasted state.
The princess— demoralized, disregarded and disgraced
And the life of Amnon had a violent end.
Rejection hurts. Replacement hurts, especially when you’ve done everything but stand on your head to please the one doing the rejecting. Rejection screams,“You’re not good enough.” Replacement forces us to stare at the one who is. It hurts. But let’s learn a big lesson from Tamar and choose to not live in a state of “desolation.”
I find comfort in the thought that God wants me. You know God, right? A/K/A the King of the Universe? God will never, ever reject me. He truly likes me. He enjoys my company. I don’t wear on His nerves and I don’t have to jump through hoops to keep His attention. I can sing “He wants me” as loudly as I want and He is never going to say, “Hush Hush, keep it down now, voices carry!” Never. He is proud that I am His and it is ok for the whole world to know.
I also find comfort in the fact that God will never, ever replace me with the newest, hottest thing out there! Ephesians 2:10 says, “For we are the product of His hand, heaven’s poetry etched on lives, created in the Anointed, Jesus, to accomplish the good works God arranged long ago” (The Voice). I am the product of His hand! And He designed ME to carry out the work He prepared just for ME and there is never going to be anyone that can do that job better than ME. He would know. Those things bring HIM glory.
The same is true for you, my friend. You are wanted and God has something for you—even if you’ve been rejected and replaced by people. Keep trusting in the one that never disappoints. Keep finding peace in the fact that God’s unmerited love for you is enduring. God is never going to change His mind about you. He isn’t fickle, He is faithful. Know that you really don’t have a replacement. God created you as one-of-a kind. When others fail to see your uniqueness, forgive them for the harm they cause and rest in the fact that if you humble yourself before God, in due time He will lift you up in honor. He really does work all things out for your best interest and His glory. Chin up, march on!
