Episode #351 When You’re Afraid God Will Reject You – How to Bring Your Feelings to God

Hey, friend. A common type of email that I get from many of you is along the lines of feeling unsafe with God. You're worried that your relationship with God isn't genuine. You're concerned that you'll get to the end of your life and he will reject you. Or that you haven't really been forgiven or you can't really be forgiven of your sins. And so I wanna talk about that today, recognizing how tender that is.

And I wanna start off by affirming to you that is not true. That is not how God is. That is not what he is like. That is not his character or nature, and that is not true of how he cares for you personally. And we know this because of how he reveals himself to us in his word.

And so I wanna take some time looking at two passages of scripture and asking the Lord to reveal his truth to us in ways that we can hold onto, to help fortify your relationship with him in ways where he has not felt safe or where you have felt unsure.

I close every episode with a question to ask God. And I'm actually gonna give you our question early today, 'cause I'd like that to be in the back of your mind as I'm reading these passages of scripture. So our question for the Lord is, “God, what do you want me to know about you right now?”

And I'm gonna start by reading for us from 2Timothy chapter 1:9-12.This is Paul's letter to Timothy, and he says:

“Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord, nor of me his prisoner, but share in suffering for the gospel by the power of God, 9 who saved us and called us to[a] a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began, 10 and which now has been manifested through the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel, 11 for which I was appointed a preacher and apostle and teacher, 12 which is why I suffer as I do. But I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed, and I am convinced that he is able to guard until that day what has been entrusted to me. 13 Follow the pattern of the sound words that you have heard from me, in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. 14 By the Holy Spirit who dwells within us, guard the good deposit entrusted to you.”

Some of the things that jumped out at me in this passage are the work that God himself does. We have been saved and called, not because of our own works, but because of God's own purpose and his own grace given to us in Jesus before the ages began.

Shame is talked about in both verse 8 and verse 12. We don't have to be ashamed for we know whom we have believed. And we can be convinced that he will guard what has been entrusted to us. That we can follow him in the faith and love that Jesus gives us. We can follow him by the Holy Spirit who dwells within us and by God's own power. We also can guard what has been entrusted to us.

The other part that really jumps out at me is in verse 12, he says, “I'm not ashamed for I know whom I have believed.”

That can be scary for some of us, but that is not the heart of God to fear us into good behavior. He's not after our performance or doing things for him. He's after relationship.

And so I'm gonna read Matthew 7:21-23. He says:

21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ 23 And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.”

It talks about knowing God in relationship. We don't have to be ashamed because we know whom we have believed. When we stand before God in heaven, he is not after all of the things that we did in his name or did for his kingdom. He invites those that he knows. He says, “hey, you did all of these things, but I never knew you.” The difference maker isn't in what we do. It's not in what we perform for God. The difference maker is the relationship that God invites us into. And again, he's the one who makes the way. He's the one who provides for what we need to have this kind of relationship with him. To know him and to allow him to know us.

And so today, if you feel unsafe with God, I invite you, tell him that. Tell him the things that you are nervous about. Bring to him the concerns. He won't push you away. He welcomes your honesty. Come to him asking for him to show you what is true. Asking him to empower you to tell him what is true about you.

I gave you the question already but I invite you to go back to it again with the Lord:

“God, what is something you want me to know about you right now?”

And I invite you to follow it up by sharing more about yourself.

“God, here's something I'll share with you about me.”

You can trust him.

Have a good talk.

And if you've been encouraged by this content, please share it with a friend and help them grow in their conversational relationship with God too!

Connect with Jen on Instagram