What's in a Name?

My dad was the youngest of three boys and I remember growing up that when my grandma would speak about him or call him, she would sometimes go through the older boy’s names first before getting to his name.  It also happened to me and my sister.  We had quite a few cousins, and the grandmas would do that to us too, reciting the list of names out loud before getting to the name of the child in question.  This is a memory that we still laugh about today.

If God was human - and I am so glad He is not - imagine the headache He would have had if he had to blitz down the list of names of all His children in order to call a specific one.  Expanding on that, I find myself fortunate that my name is near the beginning of the alphabet and so if He would have approached it in alphabetical order, I would have stood some chance.  If He did it by age though starting at the oldest, I would find myself somewhere in the middle which might have proved to be slightly problematic.  

But the Lord interrupted my humorous train of thought and reminded me afresh that He knows me by name and has called me even before the foundation of the world.  He doesn’t confuse me with someone else whose name sounds similar or is spelt the same.  He knows who I am.  He is aware of my hair count without having to use high tech gadgets.  He knows my heartbeat and can hear my thoughts from a distance.  He is aware of the motives and purposes of my heart.  

I am surrounded by people who love me and even though we are close, they can guess what I am thinking or what my motives are, but only God really knows.  He is close enough that He knows my thoughts even before I know them or speak them.  I needed to be reminded of this today that to Him I am not just a face in a crowd.  Not only does He know my name, but He chose it and was excited about my future even before I knew I had one.

In case just like me, you needed reminding today of how special you are to Him, here are some of the things I was meditating on from Ps 139:

The Lord searches me and knows me.  He is aware of my sitting down and my getting up.  He understands my thoughts from a distance.  He searches out my path and knows all of my ways.  Even before I speak a word, the Lord knows it.  The Lord’s hand shuts me in from the front and from the back and He puts His hand of protection upon me.  He formed my inward parts and knitted me together before I was born.  He made me with loving care so that even the angels wondered who this man is that He delights so much in.  He determined the day of my birth and all His works concerning me are wonderful.  He formed my frame and saw my unformed substance.  He filled the book of my days with His plans.  He thinks wonderful thoughts about me every day, they are too many to count.  Even if I have a wandering negative thought, the Lord will direct me back to the truth.  

Just some of the thoughts from that Psalm in my own words.  It encourages me to think that He delights in the fullness of who He created me to be.  The same goes for you.  Nothing about your life catches Him off guard and without a rescue plan.

The Bible says that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word shall be established (2 Cor 13:1).  So to make it official, here are more scriptures showing just how special you are to the Lord:

Psalm 17:8 - Keep me as the apple of the eye; Hide me in the shadow of Your wings.

And finally and I know this refers to Israel and Jerusalem but is equally true of us today:

Is 49:15-16 - 15 [The Lord answered] “Can a woman forget her nursing child, And have no compassion on the son of her womb?  Even these may forget, but I will not forget you.  16 “Indeed, I have inscribed [a picture of] you on the palms of My hands...

The footnote for these verses in the AMP translation of the Bible reads as follows:

In Jewish tradition there is a story representing Israel as God’s daughter, who asks Him to stamp a seal of her on His heart and arm. God replies that such a seal cannot always be seen, so He has instead inscribed her upon His palms.

Engraving someone’s name or picture on the palm of your hand is of a permanent nature and is a constant reminder of that person - perhaps something my grandmas could have found useful.

Photo credit: Special treasures from Janine's wild garden.

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