Healing from Rejection: What Inventory Taught Me
I’ve never battled substance abuse or addiction. So when I first stepped into the world of Celebrate Recovery, I honestly wondered if I even belonged. But what I’ve learned is that healing from rejection isn’t just for those overcoming addiction — it’s for all of us who have ever carried pain we didn’t fully process.
When our small group reached the Inventory chapter in the Celebrate Recovery workbook, I wanted to skip it. I told my leader I didn’t need to dig up old wounds — I had already forgiven the people who hurt me. I felt like I had moved on.
But she gently told me, “You can’t skip this, Katie. Inventory is a huge part of recovery.” And she was right.
What Is Inventory?
Inventory is where you take an honest look at the people who hurt you, what they did, how it affected your life, and what damage it caused. It’s uncomfortable. It’s painful. And for me, it stirred up feelings I thought I had already dealt with.
I found myself writing words like:
- Angry
- Bitter
- Alone
- Inadequate
- Insecure
- Resentful
- Abandoned
But when I asked God to help me go deeper, I realized that every one of those emotions pointed back to one root: rejection.
The Lie of Rejection
Rejection is one of Satan’s greatest tools. The enemy wants you to believe you’re unwanted, unaccepted, and unloved. And if he can get you to hold on to those lies, they’ll settle in your heart and start shaping your life.
But the truth? God’s Word says the exact opposite:
- You are God’s handiwork (Ephesians 2:10)
- You are chosen and dearly loved (Colossians 3:12)
- You are accepted and not alone (Psalm 27:10)
- You are a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession (1 Peter 2:9)
That’s not rejection — that’s identity.
Why We Need to Do the Hard Work
You can’t heal from what you won’t face. I didn’t want to relive the hurt, but I learned that ignoring it doesn’t bring healing — it just lets the wound stay infected under the surface. Inventory was like pulling out the last hidden splinters so real healing could begin.
And when you begin healing from rejection, you stop reacting from pain and start responding from purpose.
What Comes Next
The enemy will always try to feed you lies. But you get to choose whether or not to accept them.
Like a broken vending machine that spits the coin back out, we can learn to reject the rejection — not let it settle into our hearts, but instead replace it with God’s truth. And when truth fills our minds, our emotions heal, and our actions begin to change.
Maybe you’re reading this and realizing you’ve got your own “inventory” to do. I encourage you to grab a notebook, make the columns, and let God walk with you through it. Don’t do it alone — invite the Holy Spirit in.
You are not rejected. You are chosen. You are accepted. You are deeply loved.
