The motivational writer Dale Carnegie once famously wrote, “A person’s name is to him or her the sweetest and most important sound in any language.”
Most people put a lot of value in their name. It’s part of who they are, their identity, their verbal fingerprint. It’s why people will sit up and listen when their name is correctly pronounced and why people feel special when they see their name, properly spelled out, in print.
Even still, our names are becoming obsolete in today’s world where they, and our individualities, are often taken away from us. Most of the time we’re an account number, a ticket stub, the last four digits of our social security number, or a credit card number. Our identity is just another stream of numbers and our names are simply a secondary label. Our very uniqueness is being undermined.
And when you think about it, this slow, methodical erasing of our names, our very individuality, is exactly what the Devil wants. This slow identity theft allows him more of a foothold. “You’re not as special or unique as you once thought. Your name, distinctiveness, origin is nothing to shout about or remember.” Have you ever felt like this? Like you were just another face in a sea of other faces? Like you were just another person to be counted in the census, the population, the world?
If you have, I have something special to tell you. You’re wrong. God doesn’t just count his sheep, he knows each and every one of us by our very names. He knows each and every one of us for our unique gifts and talents and, yes, even our frailties. Not only does God know your name… he says your name. Just like he singled out Moses on the mountain top by name, He is speaking your name and calling you to Him. I believe there is nothing more vital and valuable for you to understand than this profound truth that: “God knows my name and His favor is upon me.”
Jim L. Wilson said it this way, “Take a moment and consider that the God of the universe who put the stars in place, who determined the boundaries of the seas, who created gravity and every living thing not only knows your name—He calls you by name.”
