I have called you by name

I bought this mug because it reminded me of this Ellie Holcomb song:

Fear not, for I have redeemed you

I've called you by name, you are mine

Fear not, for I have redeemed you

I've called you by name, you are mine

If you're scared of the dark, I'll be your guiding light

If the flood waters come, they won't wash you aside

If you're caught in a storm, I'm safe place to hide

Don't be afraid, I am with you

And if you need a friend, oh, I won't let you down

If you feel the earth shaking, I'm your solid ground

If you're feeling alone, and like no one is around

Don't be afraid, I am with you

Don't you forget that I made you

Don't believe that you're not enough

I'll never leave or forsake you

Try to remember my love

I have called you by name, you are mine

I have called you by name, you are mine

Fear not, for I have redeemed you

I've called you by name, you are mine

You are mine

Fear not, for I have redeemed you

I've called you by name, you are mine

It's a children's song, but it has been echoing in my head because it speaks to me as well - as an adult, but yet still a child of God -- the message in this song is for me. It is all about identity and trust, and Whose we are, and how that makes us safe, and it is so beautiful.

It is encouraging to read through the list of circumstances in the Bible where God instructs His flock to "fear not". It is further encouraging, as Ellie highlights in this song, that God's command to us to not fear is related to our relationship to Him. Because we are His, made in His image, called by name by Him, totally His -- that is the reason we need not fear in a tumultuous, uncertain, anxious, angry, unsettled, conspiratorial, upset world. Socially, politically, and technologically this world is a scary place, but God is still restoring, still building His kingdom here, and still planning for the future. We need not despair or give up, or allow fear to rule our hearts - because we are redeemed, called by name, and we are His.

Am I scared of the dark? Yes! I'm scared of the evil, the hopelessness and the animosity that seems to have it's way. But I know that God is my guiding light. He will guide decisions, lead His own on a sure path, and see to it that no one falls behind or gets lost.

Are there flood waters in my life? Yes! We are flooded with information, cultural messages, circumstances that rise up and threaten to drown us with their strength and overwhelm. But I know that I will not be washed aside. God knows His own, our names are written in his book and His name is written in us. He sees the sparrow, and He sees us. Always.

Am I caught in a storm? Yes! But He is the Stopper of the Storms, in case we have forgotten, and if He doesn't stop the storm, He can help us walk across the waves if our eyes are on Him. He is a safe place to hide.

Do I need a friend? Do I feel the earth shaking? Do I feel alone? Yes. Many times. We all do, we feel this. But we were made in the image of God and He is shaping and sanctifying us through every moment. Fear not, when we remember the Lord, He remembers us.

Israel's Only Savior

43 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. 2 When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;    and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you. 3 For I am the Lord your God,    the Holy One of Israel, your Savior. I give Egypt as your ransom, Cush and Seba in exchange for you. 4 Because you are precious in my eyes, and honored, and I love you, I give men in return for you, peoples in exchange for your life. 5 Fear not, for I am with you; I will bring your offspring from the east, and from the west I will gather you. 6 I will say to the north, Give up, and to the south, Do not withhold; bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the end of the earth, 7 everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made.” 8 Bring out the people who are blind, yet have eyes, who are deaf, yet have ears! 9 All the nations gather together, and the peoples assemble. Who among them can declare this, and show us the former things? Let them bring their witnesses to prove them right, and let them hear and say, It is true. 10 “You are my witnesses,” declares the Lord, “and my servant whom I have chosen, that you may know and believe me and understand that I am he. Before me no god was formed, nor shall there be any after me. 11 I, I am the Lord, and besides me there is no savior. 12 I declared and saved and proclaimed, when there was no strange god among you; and you are my witnesses,” declares the Lord, “and I am God. 13 Also henceforth I am he; there is none who can deliver from my hand; I work, and who can turn it back?” 14 Thus says the Lord, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel:“For your sake I send to Babylon and bring them all down as fugitives, even the Chaldeans, in the ships in which they rejoice. 15 I am the Lord, your Holy One, the Creator of Israel, your King.” 16 Thus says the Lord, who makes a way in the sea, a path in the mighty waters, 17 who brings forth chariot and horse, army and warrior; they lie down, they cannot rise, they are extinguished, quenched like a wick: 18 “Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old. 19 Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert. 20 The wild beasts will honor me, the jackals and the ostriches, for I give water in the wilderness, rivers in the desert, to give drink to my chosen people, 21 the people whom I formed for myself that they might declare my praise. 22 “Yet you did not call upon me, O Jacob; but you have been weary of me, O Israel! 23 You have not brought me your sheep for burnt offerings, or honored me with your sacrifices. I have not burdened you with offerings, or wearied you with frankincense. 24 You have not bought me sweet cane with money, or satisfied me with the fat of your sacrifices. But you have burdened me with your sins; you have wearied me with your iniquities.

25 “I, I am he who blots out your transgressions for my own sake, and I will not remember your sins. 26 Put me in remembrance; let us argue together; set forth your case, that you may be proved right. 27 Your first father sinned, and your mediators transgressed against me. 28 Therefore I will profane the princes of the sanctuary, and deliver Jacob to utter destruction and Israel to reviling.

Isaiah 43