BECAUSE YOU ARE MINE

This is what the LORD says— he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine.” —Isaiah 43:1

Though Isaiah was focused on the world-shaping work that God was undertaking on behalf of His people, he was also alert to the intimacy that God sought with the people. God’s purposes were not about geopolitical movements so much as they were about restoring the relationship between Himself and His people. At times, He would work in nation-shaking and nation-forming ways because those, too, were about people, but God and His prophets would never mistake the nations for the individuals. This verse references God as the One who created and formed Jacob and Israel, perhaps suggesting both their personal, individual creation and their formation as a people, but He is also their Redeemer and the One who called them. It was not a generic calling; He called each person and each people group by name.

This is remarkable attention and intimacy. Pause for a moment to think how remarkable it is that God—the Creator of the universe—simply knows your name.

Then consider His emphasis, “I have called you by name; you are mine” (Isaiah 43:1, NLT). Throughout His writings, Isaiah insisted that God was deeply involved in our world. He worked with nations and empires on the stage of history.

He was intensely involved in the lives and fates of the people of Judah, whom Isaiah was primarily addressing. But He also maintained a personal interest in the lives of every individual. Not only was this a generous overture for a renewed relationship, but it was also the basis for living without fear. Of course, the people would still experience the challenges of life, such as floods and fires (see Isaiah 43:2), but they need not be overwhelmed by them because God was with them, had called them, and personally knew them and their circumstances.