Why Do I Always Feel Passed Over?

The blood will be a sign for you on the houses where you are; and when I see the blood, I will pass over you.”

Exodus 12:13

When you think of the phrase passed over, it may bring some negative feelings to your mind and heart. Maybe it is just a memory of when you were a child and passed over on the playground, the last pick for the kickball team. Or, maybe you have recently been passed over for a promotion at your job. Or, you might just feel like you have been passed over your entire life from rejection after rejection. I know at times in my life, I have simply sat feeling unseen and unloved and completely passed over.

I was reading in Exodus the other day when this contrast struck me. What, in our day mostly bares a negative sentiment, holds a beautiful story in the pages of scripture. Being passed over in God’s Word is all about His love for us. 

Exodus 12 talks about God instructing Moses and Aaron to tell all the Israelites to take a lamb for their family and paint its blood on their doorframes. This was the final plague in Egypt where God was passing through on that specific night, and every firstborn son and male animal would die. However, those with blood on their doorframes would be spared. He did just that and every Egyptian household, including Pharoah’s, was struck with death. Yet, the Israelites, God’s people, were protected. Soon after, Pharoah would set the Israelites free. They were delivered from bondage, where they’d been enslaved for hundreds of years after God kept them safe, as He passed over them. 

We know the rest of the story, where later Jesus, out of His deep love for us, was our atoning sacrifice, delivering us from the bondage of sin that enslaves us. He did not reject us, he does not look over us, He instead looks straight at us. In fact, you are precious to Him, you are a chosen one. (1 Peter 2:9, Ephesians 1:4) 

Beloved, our perfect Passover Lamb is a promise that you are loved not ignored. An assurance that you are protected, not neglected.

No matter the rejection you have felt from man, Jesus gave it all for you and He loves you beyond measure. In fact, often when we feel passed over, it is shielding from the Lord. What may seem like denial or rejection is our gracious God guarding us from what we think is good, but what He knows is not. 

Whatever feelings of being passed over or rejected you might be feeling today, hold tight to the King of Kings who sees you, and loves you.

**This is simply a glimpse at this incredible passage in Exodus. I encourage you to go back in and dive deep into it for more goodness.