In the scriptures, it is hard to find a person other than Jesus who was rejected to the degree that King David was. Throughout his life he faced rejection from those close to him. His experience was not fear of rejection but literal, bona-fide rejection. First, he was rejected by his father. We see this in I Samuel 16. His father did not think to call David to a once in a life family gathering before the prophet of God. That was how little he was in his father’s radar. Then he was rejected by his brothers who were probably jealous and had only harsh words for him. (I Sam 17:26-30) He was then rejected by his ‘boss’ and father-in-law, Saul, who sent an army of 3000 to get rid of him. Think of how scary it would be if one assassin were after you. Imagine 3000! He was also rejected by his first wife, Michal. (2 Sam 6:20-22) At times, he was rejected and abandoned by his followers, at one time in danger of being stoned by them. (1 Sam 30:6) People of Keilah who owed their lives to him betrayed him and wanted to hand him over to Saul. (1 Sam 23) The most dramatic and poignant rejection of all was in his old age when his own son, Absalom, sought to dethrone and kill him. At that time, most of the nation of Israel who was indebted to him for all the years of prosperity and protection abandoned David and sided with Absalom.
There were a few bright spots in his relational life like Jonathan who loved and remained loyal to him. (1 Sam 20) Prophet Samuel probably kept David in prayer. But the overwhelming experience of David’s life was rejection. But the scriptures tell us that amazingly David’s heart was safe. He didn’t lose the tenderness of his heart toward people or toward God. (2 Sam 2:17-27, 9:1-13) He knew he was extravagantly loved by God. He in turn loved God extravagantly. It doesn’t mean that he was not hurt by these rejections. But his soul was not permanently touched by them. He was safe because his core identity was anchored in the love of God. What we most fear is that we are not lovable or that we have lost our ability to love. David had put these fears to rest through his relationship with God.
Through David, God is encouraging us to not be afraid of rejection. The rejection we fear is often illusory. Instead of meaning to reject us, people are often preoccupied, absent-minded or poor communicators. But even when we are truly rejected, we do not have to give it the power to harden our heart. Our heart can be safe because we know we are loved by the One who really knows us.