Isaiah 43:1 "But now thus saith the LORD that created thee, O Jacob, and he that formed thee, O Israel, Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine."
We have one more thought on this verse that leads to the following verses. We
have seen the redemption that is ours through the blood of Jesus Christ, the
Servant of God. We have seen how God created us and is daily forming us into
the image and purpose and plan that He has for each of us as individuals. This
morning, I want us to see that God is not just indiscriminately acting
throughout humanity; rather, He is very deliberately forming each of us because
of the very personal relationship to which He has called us. "I have
created you. I am forming you. I have redeemed you. I have called you. YOU ARE
MINE!" I hope those last three words bring great peace and joy to your
heart as it does to mine. I belong to God because of His great love and care
for me.
He knows me by name. I assure you that you cannot get anywhere in the
government without a number. You are assigned a very impersonal number and that
is your identity. When I think of these things, my mind goes back to Moses. We
find God speaking to Moses when he was so discouraged after the children of
Israel had bowed to the golden calf, "... thou hast found grace in my
sight, and I know thee by name." (Exodus 33:17) That is wonderful to know
and there are times when I find myself as the Psalmist as I think of that,
"Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain unto
it." (Psalm 139:6) It is more than my mind can take when I think of
all that our God does each millisecond of time and yet, He knows me by name and
He knows everything about me and even beyond that... HE CARES FOR ME! That
truly gives me great comfort and joy and peace in my heart! "Oh how
I love Jesus, BECAUSE He first loved me!"