Mindy Lee Hopman

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)

Before our children were conceived, we loved them. My husband chose the name for our son when he was in high school.  He knew what he wanted to call him and I loved the name he chose.

Your name is the first word you receive. It represents who you are. Normally parents choose the name together with love and careful thought and consideration.  They may look at root words, languages, or history in the baby books, or they may choose a family name to be passed down through the next generation.

They whisper your name during your first moments of breath outside of your mother’s womb and your receive it.  The name and the face become one.

The sound of many names make our hearts smile, and the sound of some names make the walls go up and make our hearts cry.  You carry your name.  Your name is your legacy.

God knows our names – each and every one of them, and He calls us by name.

To you, O men, I call, and my voice is to the sons of men, (Proverbs 8:4).

Our Creator knows our names from the very beginning and He loves us unconditionally.  He watches over us and keeps us in His care, even before we know He exists.  Then in a quiet whisper, we hear God call us back to Himself.  We begin to understand He exists. There is a quickening in our Spirit.  God calls us by name to believe and to turn our hearts back to Him.

Beloved, God calls us by grace, not by birth-place or birth-family.

But when God, (Galatians 1:15).

The calling comes from heaven and pierces even the darkest hearts.   God called Paul, a Jewish man who persecuted Christians, right out of his old way of living. God used Paul to spread the Good News.

If he says, ‘Let there be light,’ the impenetrable darkness gives way to light; if he says, ‘Let there be grace,’ unutterable sin gives way, and the hardest-hearted sinner melts before the fire of effectual calling. Charles Spurgeon

God loves you unconditionally and calls you with open, grace-filled arms into His loving embrace.

And I will make you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great; and so you shall be a blessing; and I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse. And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed, (Genesis 12:2-3).

God called Abram and told him that his name would be made great.  God changed Abram’s name to Abraham when God made the covenant promise with Him which exists to this very day.

I let my dogs out this morning, the air was brisk, but the stars were beaming.

The promise God made to Abraham still shines!

And so from this one man, and he as good as dead, came descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sand on the seashore, (Hebrews 11:12, NIV).

God calls you back to Himself because He has a specific job for you to do here on earth.

This is where it begins…

…love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might, (Deuteronomy 6:5).

And let His love shine through you onto everyone you meet, wherever God places you.

Embrace your place today.

So, if you are wondering if God calls your name, yes, He has quickened your Spirit for you to return.

Beloved, you have been loved from the very beginning of time.

…walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love, being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as also you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all. But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ’s gift, (Ephesians 4:1-9). 

May God bless you and keep you in His care always.  May you seek Him with all of your heart.  He wants to be found by you. 
With love,