But now, thus says the Lord, your Creator, O Jacob,
And He who formed you, O Israel,
“Do not fear, for I have redeemed you;
I have called you by name;
you are Mine!”
Isaiah 43:1
I love this verse. A long time ago, a friend gave me a bookmark with my name inserted into the text: “… I have called you by name, Susan; you are Mine!” It was a tangible reminder that the Creator of the whole universe didn’t just acquire me as part of an odd-lot of merchandise, but that I personally am His.
And as always, I’m touched by the deeper significance of the words God chose to have the writer use. In this verse, the Lord is Creator, the one who formed everything. At first glance, that seemed to me to be very generic, very big, rather than personal and intimate. But it is not.
The One who speaks created you out of nothing but the thoughts He had of you. He didn’t take material left over from some other project and cobble you together. And you’re not one of a batch, like one cupcake turned out of the muffin tin. No, out of the kind intent of His heart He chose to make you – separate, individual, unique.
And He “formed” you. You didn’t come off an assembly line, as one of many. With great care He fashioned you for a specific purpose. Ephesians 2:10 says, “we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”
So this God who so carefully made us speaks, and it is a message of reconciliation. His first words in this passage are, “Do not fear.”
He’s not talking about the fear a child has of “something” under the bed, or the fear I have of roaches… He’s talking about a fear of something real, the fear of His just wrath, His overwhelming holiness, His all-consuming righteousness, His unimaginable other-ness. Do not fear. Those realities are no longer against you, because “I have redeemed you.”
And, “I have called you by name.” The act of naming, or calling by name, has three interrelated meanings.
First, to give a name to something asserts sovereignty over it – like when Adam named all the animals. Second, it indicates that a specific individual is being addressed. I like that – He is speaking to each of us right were we are. And third, it means to shout, to call out loudly in order to get someone’s attention so that contact can be initiated. And I like that most of all. He’s shouting, because I’m likely not to be listening. And He’s trying to get my attention – but not to warn me or threaten me or tell me to get out of the way, but to “initiate contact” with me! He’s calling my name because He wants a relationship with me. He’s calling me to come to Him. And He’s calling your name, too.
For further consideration:
1. When you think about God as your own personal Creator – the One who lavished His effort on you – instead of a distant Creator of the cosmos, what difference does it make to you?
2. What do you think God has formed you for? See if you can find confirmation of that in Scripture.
3. God is calling you by name – does He have your attention? How do you know?
