40 Days with Moses 2025 Year of Exposure Day 4: The Lord knows my name.

“Then Moses said, “I will now turn aside and see this great sight, why the bush does not burn.” So when the Lord saw that he turned aside to look, God called to him from the midst of the bush and said, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.””

‭‭Exodus‬ ‭3:3-4‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

Our own name is probably the most powerful word in our life. It is how we are referenced, how we are individuated, how we are summoned. Indeed, we can hear our name invoked across a great area and will immediately turn towards its source.

To our point: Many years ago something happened that has since brought many good laughs.

I went to get fuel for my white 1985 Delta 88. [Backstory: Recently, my husband had caught me gone to a conference and had turned my vehicle into—shall we say—a statement piece. Yes, I had proper “rims,” pink trim replacing the chrome trim, and a big “Heartbreaker” decal across my front windshield. Oh, he also got an airbrushed tag for the front that said “Janet.”] As I am walking to the pump I hear a voice calling out to me, “Hey, Janet!” Naturally, I looked to see who summoned me and saw this very “roughrider” of a man (no offense to roughriders) looking back at me.

Now, coming from a minister’s family, I have always been aware of the importance of knowing people’s names. I never wanted anybody to think that I didn’t know or remember their name. That being said, I looked at this man and replied, “Oh, I didn’t see you standing over there!” You see, my assumption was that I SHOULD know who he was. But I didn’t. Therefore, my response. He now looked at me for a moment as we maintained eye contact and said, “You don’t know how I know your name, do you?” I made no response, just kept looking at him. Now he points to the front of my car and says, “It’s written right there on the front: ‘Janet.’” Well, you can imagine the laughs my family has gotten out of that story over the years. But this story proves our point: Our own name is a powerful thing.

When I was a very young girl it was a popular practice, that if you “liked” a guy, you would write his name over and over again. There was just something about writing that “special” name that was very satisfying. It was like making a connection with the object of your affection. (This didn’t work out well for me when my mother once discovered the name writing I had left in the bathroom; I was not supposed to “like” any guy.)

Did you know that the Lord speaks of something very similar in terms of how He loves His people?

“Yet Jerusalem says, “The Lord has deserted us; the Lord has forgotten us.” “Never! Can a mother forget her nursing child? Can she feel no love for the child she has borne? But even if that were possible, I would not forget you! See, I have written your name on the palms of my hands. Always in my mind is a picture of Jerusalem’s walls in ruins.”

‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭49:14-16‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Now, I dare say, if the Lord knows those who are His, He keeps ALL our names constantly before Him. You see, our God is not an impersonal, cosmic CEO, way off somewhere. He is our Father. He knows who we are.

“But God’s truth stands firm like a foundation stone with this inscription: “The Lord knows those who are his,” and “All who belong to the Lord must turn away from evil.””

‭‭2 Timothy‬ ‭2‬:‭19‬ ‭NLT‬‬

When we left Moses last time he had turned aside to see why the burning bush was not being consumed. In today’s opening scripture we see that the Lord calls out Moses’ name. Moses immediately responds, “Here I am.”

Because of tough circumstances in your life, maybe even because of your own failings, you may be of the opinion (subconsciously or consciously) that the Lord doesn’t really know or actually care about you.

It’s hard to imagine that the Creator of all things actually knows each of us personally. But indeed, He does. And when He calls us, He does so directly, personally, knowing who we are, and what He wants us to do.

For today let us discover what Moses discovered:

The Lord knows me personally; the Lord knows my name.

Peace to you.

Jesus is coming! Get ready for Him!