One of the great things about the Bible is that people are mentioned by their names. There are lists after lists telling us the names of the people involved. What does that have to do with you? Everything. Just like the people gone before us, also you are special. God knows you by name.

God knows all of us by name. We are not just numbers. We are persons with names and each of us have a different life story. There are millions of us yet God knows each of us personally. We should never forget that. We are special in God’s eyes.

You know when I sit down and when I stand up.
    Even from far away, you comprehend my plans.
³ You study my traveling and resting.
    You are thoroughly familiar with all my ways.
⁴ There isn’t a word on my tongue, Lord,
    that you don’t already know completely.
⁵ You surround me—front and back.
    You put your hand on me.
⁶ That kind of knowledge is too much for me;
    it’s so high above me that I can’t fathom it.
(Psalm 139:2-6, CEB)

God does not treat us impersonally either. He knows our history. He knows our struggles. He knows our personalities. He knows us inside out. Yet he loves us without hesitation. He loves us always more than we need. And he does know what are our needs before we do.

It is really amazing to know that God Almighty cares about us personally. We do matter. What’s going on in our life does not go by unnoticed. God has a plan for each of us and it is not a plan to harm us but bless us. We are in good hands.

You are the one who created my innermost parts;
    you knit me together while I was still in my mother’s womb.
¹⁴ I give thanks to you that I was marvelously set apart.
    Your works are wonderful—I know that very well.
¹⁵ My bones weren’t hidden from you
    when I was being put together in a secret place,
    when I was being woven together in the deep parts of the earth.
¹⁶ Your eyes saw my embryo,
    and on your scroll every day was written that was being formed for me,
    before any one of them had yet happened.
¹⁷ God, your plans are incomprehensible to me!
    Their total number is countless!
¹⁸ If I tried to count them—they outnumber grains of sand!
    If I came to the very end—I’d still be with you.
(Psalm 139:13-18, CEB)

We don’t need to fake anything in order to be good enough for God. We can come as we are and know that God receives us with great joy. God knows you by name. He knows you personally. And he invites you to know him personally too.

God’s gift to us is not just to be known personally by him but also know him intimately. How can we do that? By spending time with him. And this time is never wasted. The more hectic and busy our life gets, the more important it is to spend time with him. The less time you have, the more time you need to spend in God’s presence. It sounds crazy but it is true. The benefits are out of this world. Try it! You will be blessed more than you can imagine: Peace in the midst of chaos.

 

Gracious God,
Thank you for knowing me inside out.
Thank you for never letting go of me.
Thank you for having a plan for me.
Thank you for caring about me.
It is truly amazing.
You are truly amazing.
I come to rest in you, Lord.
Take away my anxiety,
give me your peace.
In Jesus’ name,
Amen

Q4U: Do you know God personally

Be blessed, my fellow pilgrim, as you spend time with God!

Photo courtesy of Timothy Lester, design Mari-Anna Stålnacke. Linking up today with Sharing His Beauty, Unforced Rhythms, Playdates with God.