Nothing can get you down like being fired. But being expelled from a job is not the worst thing that could happen to you. In his book We Got Fired!...And It's the Best Thing That Ever Happened to Us, Harvey Mackay shares inspirational stories of rejects turned celebrities.
A music studio fired Elvis Presley in 1954. "You ain't goin' nowhere, son," its representative declared. "Go back and drive a truck." Tell that to the thousands of Elvis impersonators who sing his tunes decades after his death.
A newspaper terminated Walt Disney because he had run out of ideas. The Disney Company, with its movies, theme parks, television stations, and more, is now a multibillion-dollar empire.
A French cycling team dropped Lance Armstrong after he began treatment for testicular cancer in 1997 (with just a 50 percent chance of survival). They even refused to pay his remaining salary or his medical bills. Big mistake. Armstrong not only beat the cancer, but he won seven consecutive Tour de France races after recovery.
Before he ruled CNN, Larry King wrote a column for the Miami Herald. The Herald's editor let him go for being too chummy with his subjects. His way with people paid off, though. Few politicians or celebrities ever bypass Larry King Live today.
Steve Jobs cofounded Apple Computer in his garage, then got thrown out by his own company. Jobs picked up the pieces and bought a majority share in Pixar in 1986. Nine years later he won an Oscar for Toy Story. By 1997 he was back at Apple!
I can relate to how it feels when life dishes out rejection. But the above examples make it clear that no matter how bad things get (Armstrong could have been dead by 1998), God can use it as a stepping-stone to greatness.
I certainly don't always feel like a king, do you? When you feel as if nothing will ever go right for you--that everybody's against you--it is easy to wonder whether life is worth living. Yet Revelation insists that we are elevated to the status of kings and priests in Jesus Christ. Should you ever think that you are nobody--that no one cares--grab the book of Revelation and scatter those thoughts with the clear assertions of God's Word! Instead of being nobodies, through Jesus Christ we have been elevated to the highest places. The book of Revelation not only tells us who Jesus Christ is but also who we can become in Him.
Lord, all the glory and all the praise belong to You. Burn into my heart today a strong sense of the value I have in Your eyes.