God Knows Us

But now thus says the Lord, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine.” Isaiah 43:1 

I have been thinking about this devotion for several months. I love the reinforcement in the scripture that God knows us. I wonder if God remembers us by certain traits or qualities.  When I talk to others about this I think about Biblical references. Can you imagine God saying to the angel Gabriel “You know, John, John the Baptist, he has that place down by the river, long beard, friendly eyes, that John”.

As humans, dwelling on earth, we are often caught up in what other people think about us. “Marcus, you know Marcus, the one who works in tech and closed that billion dollar deal with Amazon.” Or “Susie, you know, Susie the one with 5 kids who wears the same dress to church every Sunday”.  Or maybe even “Jane, you know Jane, the one who lost her job and has been in a deep depression for months”.  Sometimes we have things we want people to think, we have it all, we are so successful, someone is so nice. There are also ways that we don’t want to be known, as the one without much money, or the one who has been betrayed, or the one who is always angry. 

As Christians, how would we want God to describe us? Have we done the things that we want Him to see? Do we have shame that He can wash away from us? Can He forgive the times that we have disappointed Him?  Would we want Him to describe us based on the good things? Since He knows every part of us, would He say something about what others see versus what He sees?  If you lived your life, based on how God would describe you, what would you do differently? 

Prayer: God who knows our names and everything about our lives, give us grace during our human experience, help us to remember the goals that you have made for us. Help us to use your lens on those around us and to see the goodness in one another. Amen.   

Christi Moock