Chosen by God: Healing The Wound of Rejection

It’s time to stop carrying rejection and start walking in who God says you are. You are chosen. You are known. You are loved.

Chosen & Known: Healing the Wound of Rejection

From the time we are children, we want to be chosen.

Chosen for the kickball team.
Chosen by friends.
Chosen by the person we like.
Chosen to belong.

I think back to PE class in grade school — standing there waiting to be picked, hoping I wouldn’t be last. Even then, something deep inside me wanted to be seen, wanted to matter, wanted to be chosen.

That desire doesn’t go away as we get older. It just looks different.

We want to be chosen by relationships.
Chosen for opportunities.
Chosen by people we love.
Chosen on social media.
Chosen in marriage.
Chosen in friendships.

And when we aren’t… it hurts.

Rejection leaves marks on our hearts. Sometimes quietly. Sometimes loudly. Sometimes we don’t even realize how deeply it shaped us.

Think back to the first time you felt rejected.
Was it as a child?
A middle school crush?
A friend group?
A job opportunity?
A marriage or relationship that began to fall apart?

We all carry moments where we believed the lie:
“I wasn’t chosen… so I must not be enough.”

I know that lie well.

I remember rejection as a young girl. I remember being told the boy I liked chose someone else because she was “prettier.” That hurt. But there was a deeper rejection that came later in life.

In my late 20’s, I was standing in a season I never imagined for myself. I had two small children, a business to keep running, and a marriage that felt like it was crumbling. I remember the moment the thought hit me:

“He is not choosing me. He is choosing himself.”

And then another painful realization followed:
“I am not choosing myself either.”

I felt shattered — like my heart had broken into a million pieces.

But in that moment, God met me.

I heard His voice so clearly say:
“But I always choose you. I have always and will always choose you.”

It didn’t instantly fix everything.
But it started something.

God began picking up the pieces of my heart — starting with the piece labeled rejection.

That is what He does for all of us.

God knows every part of your story.
Every hurt.
Every rejection.
Every moment you felt unseen.

And still… He chose you.

He didn’t choose you because you were perfect.
He didn’t choose you because you earned it.
He chose you because He loves you.

When we begin to understand our identity in Christ, something powerful happens:
We stop needing people to choose us in order to feel worthy.

We still value relationships.
We still want love and connection.
But rejection no longer defines us.

My prayer for my children is that they learn this truth early:
That they are chosen by God — and no one else gets to decide their worth.

And that is my prayer for you too.

Maybe you are carrying:
– rejection from childhood
– rejection from friendships
– rejection from marriage
– rejection from people you trusted
– rejection from opportunities that didn’t work out

God wants to take that pain and replace it with truth.

You are not forgotten.
You are not overlooked.
You are not unworthy.

You are chosen.
You are known.
You are deeply loved.

This is what we walk through at our WOW (Women of the Word) Retreats — learning how to release rejection and step fully into who God says we are.

We laugh together.
We cry together.
We worship.
We heal.
We grow.
We let God speak tenderly to our hearts.

If you’ve ever felt like you didn’t belong…
If you’ve ever questioned your worth…
If you’ve ever believed the lie that you weren’t chosen…

This retreat is for you.

It’s time to stop carrying rejection and start walking in your true identity.

You are a chosen daughter of the King.

Join us for the Spring 2026 WOW Retreat:
🔗 www.ericahostettler.com/events

PS. If you're reading this and this event has already passed, get on our waitlist for the next event at the link above. I can't wait to help you. become EmpowHERed in your Identity in Christ.

Categories: : Faith