What does it mean when we say that God calls your name? More importantly, how do we know when He calls our name? Nothing is more personal than a name thoughtfully given.
I encountered God, not in a church service nor any of the other more typical ways Christians experience turning their lives over to God. He met me along the side of a road on a blustery cold day. I had reached the end of myself and felt I had nothing left to live for. There were no blinding lights or audible voices like when God called Saul’s name on the Damascus Road. Nonetheless, I was acutely aware of God’s presence and just as aware that my life would take a dramatic turn if I responded.
God loves us uniquely and completely. He knows each of our names. I pray that today you will hear Him calling, inviting you toward a path from worse to better.
“…He (Jesus) calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.”
John 10:3
In this Scripture, Jesus identifies Himself as a Shepherd. He refers to those who follow Him as sheep. Because the Shepherd lives with the sheep, they recognize His voice and follow only Him.
Jesus doesn’t say, “Hey! All you sheep. Come here!” Not at all! A relationship with Him is far more personal. He calls us each by name … “Joe, Susan, Paul, Sam, Bethany, Isabelle … you are mine. Come. I want to be with you. I have so much for you.”
The Value of a Name
“A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches, Loving favor rather than silver and gold.”
Proverbs 22:1
Our name is synonymous with our reputation. It may take years to develop a good reputation, but only moments to destroy it. Today, a person can search online for literally anyone and within moments form an opinion about their character — good or bad. These quick searches certainly don’t present the full image and often lead us to believe a facade. We must take time, living and working together with someone, to truly get to know them. How do they respond under pressure? How do they react to correction? Do they maintain a consistent character everywhere with everyone?
Remember the biblical greats whom God called by name: Abraham, Jacob, Moses, Samuel, Peter, and Saul to name only a few.
But there were other not-so-greats (at least before God’s call) whom He also called by name. What about Zaccheus, the curious tax collector? Too short in stature to see Jesus, he had desperately run ahead and climbed a sycamore fig tree to get a view of the famous Prophet passing through town. Jesus stopped, looking up at the precariously perched Zacchaeus. He called his name, “Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.”
Shock and dismay filled the crowd. Stay in the home of this despicable person? How could one of the most despised people in the community receive Jesus. The moment Jesus called his name changed everything (Luke 19:1-10).
Jesus called Matthew, another tax collector, to become His disciple. Simon, once a revolutionary Zealot, also laid down his arms and responded to the Savior’s call.
Throughout the Bible, we see God speak personally to mostly unqualified, largely flawed, and often incompetent individuals. By responding to God’s voice, they became unshakable and invincible, committed to something and Someone greater than themselves.
Meaning and Purpose
Every name carries both meaning and purpose.
My parents named me after both my grandmothers. Mary means bitter. Ann means grace. How do you blend those almost polar opposites. Through God’s sovereign intervention in my life what started out bitter, He turned to grace. My name carries significance of which only He knows the full measure.
The same goes for you. What is your name? What is its meaning? Do you recognize when God calls your name?
May I encourage you to begin listening for the voice of God? You may hear Him through the whisper of the wind, the sweet lyrical song of a bird, the ominous rumble of thunder, or the vastness of the night sky. You may hear Him best and find Him the closest amidst the crushing of painful seasons. Perhaps, He speaks the clearest during times of solitude or worship. Maybe you hear His voice while reading and meditating on Scripture.
One thing is for sure; God loves you. He constantly reaches toward you, inviting you into fellowship with Him as He did long ago with Zacchaeus. No matter what you are going through, He calls. No matter how far you feel you have drifted from Him, He speaks your name. His call brings redemption, restoration, and deliverance.
“…Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine.”
Isaiah 43:1
Respond
God, our Good Shepherd, never forces His sheep to follow Him. He faithfully leads the way, calling us to follow Him. The response He leaves to each of us whether or not we will hear and obey.
If you have never responded to Him, today is your day. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain. He is only a breath away.
Dear Jesus,
thank You, Lord, for calling my name. In my bitterness and distress or when I think I have everything going right, You are here … present … waiting … loving … giving … drawing me close. I want to hear you better, to follow You, and listen to Your voice.
You said that Your sheep know You and that they listen (John 10:14-16). Lord, I want to know You more. I release every hindrance and reject every lie that would keep me from following You with all my heart, soul, mind, and strength (Mark 12:30).
I receive Your grace, love and mercy. Set me upon a new path as one of Your own.
Thank You, Lord, for Your grace over my life. May I bring You glory. You, O Lord, have promised to give “… the treasures of darkness, and hidden riches of secret places …” May I begin to understand the spiritual truths of Your Kingdom — those things previously hidden from my understanding but available through Your presence. You desire that I may know You, the One who calls us by name (Isaiah 45:3).
Oh how incredible to think that the One who holds the universe in place, knows and calls.
Amen.
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