We all long to be loved and accepted. It is part of our human nature. As children, we strive to fit in with our peers, and I believe it follows us into our adulthood. But, now as Christians, how does that impact our lives and ministry?
In the marketplace and ministry, there is unhealthy competition and jealousy. In the marketplace, it manifests by competing and striving to see who can produce more sales or impress the boss. In ministry, we are in competition and a power struggle to see who is more anointed, who has the leaders favor and who gets to prophesy and preach.
Ministry and marketplace aren’t so different. In the marketplace, we long to climb the corporate ladder, but in ministry, we are also aiming for elevation desiring to be titled elder, deacon, pastor, prophet, evangelist or apostle.
What are the motives behind our spiritual elevation, and why do we have an unhealthy need to rise to the top as fast as we can? Jesus came to be a servant and serve humbly. While I do believe in titles and the fivefold office, our first and foremost desire should be to be a servant as Jesus came to model.
What is the driving force behind our desire for elevation and the need to be accepted and have your anointing valued? As I’ve been part of thousands of deliverance sessions, one of the most common root causes of rejection is that the person’s pastor or ministry leader didn’t “value their anointing or were jealous of what they carried spiritually.”
This is wrong thinking. When we are allowing those thoughts to penetrate our soul and spirit, we should take a step back and evaluate ourselves, our motives and allow the Holy Spirit to convict us. A spirit of rejection is behind those thoughts.
When we have been repeatedly rejected, we have an unhealthy need for acceptance and today that is playing out in the church. Social media is a place believers can self-title and elevate themselves to any position they desire and post spiritual posts to receive acceptance. They can and do find value in how many shares and likes their posts get and consider themselves accepted.
The truth is, rejection is flaming hot in their lives. Hurts, abuses and emotional trauma from past relationships are at the core of this unhealthy and unproductive drive for elevation. Until we are spiritually and emotionally healed from trauma, betrayal and rejection, the cycle will spin in an unfruitful manner, causing destruction on future relationships and wreaking havoc on our lives.
Spend some time self-evaluating and allow the Holy Spirit to lead you through forgiving those who have hurt you, releasing the offender from the offense and repenting of any ungodly and prideful desires and ambitions you have to move forward as fast you can to be accepted and elevated.
Allow the Holy Spirit, the Comforter, to come and heal those hurts. Ask Jesus to root out the spirit of rejection so you can move forward in ministry in purity and holiness. Learn more about rooting out rejection and spiritual warfare tactics in my book, Discerning and Destroying the Works of Satan, and listen to my podcast show, “Prophetic Spiritual Warfare,” on the Charisma Podcast Network.
Kathy DeGraw is a prophetic deliverance minister releasing the love and power of God, to ignite and activate people, release prophetic destinies and deliver people from the bondage of the enemy. She is the founder of Kathy DeGraw Ministries and Be Love Outreach. She is the author of several books, including Speak Out, Discerning and Destroying the Works of Satan, Identity Invasion, Who is Speaking? and Warfare Declarations. You can connect with Kathy on Facebook or visit kathydegrawministries.org.
