Mark Gulden & Treva Rousseau

Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name; you are Mine. – Isaiah 43:1

Starbucks has a great marketing technique requiring the baristas to ask for the customers’ names. Between the personalized cup, the friendly call of one’s name in a busy store, and (if one is as regular a customer as I am) the automatic knowledge of one’s name, the customer feels important, known, and beloved, even. Which makes the customer come back for more, of course! I recall the first time a barista automatically wrote my name on the cup without asking. When I received my order, my heart nearly skipped a beat. Yes, the effect was that powerful, even if only for a moment. I felt welcomed and befriended. I became a customer for life.

God calls us by name, because He knows us. Not superficially, but deeply and intimately. Those feelings of importance, acceptance, and welcome one feels when a cashier calls out one’s name are not only magnified when we listen for God’s voice, but prove themselves to be true – not just clever marketing techniques. God does hold us as important, He does accept us as we are, and loves us for it. We belong to Him, and He wants us to come back for more and more. I invite you to read the scripture above, and, if you are thirsty for more, to continue reading all of Isaiah 43. Then listen. Do you hear Him calling you?

Pray with me: God, I am listening…. (then just sit back and listen!)