He Knows My Name...

You would think with a name like "non-stress test," there shouldn't be any anxiety produced. You would think! Our normal, scheduled appointment yesterday turned into a bit of adventure for us, another chance for us to learn who God is and who we are.

 I had woken up yesterday morning after bad dreams. The night before I had been stressed again about the world/politics, preparations for the baby, juggling responsibilities, etc... I felt like God wanted me to turn to Isaiah 40, a chapter that had been brought up a couple of times at my baby shower because of the amazing promise that God "gently leads those who are with young."

Yesterday morning, I felt the peace of other promises: God doesn't grow tired or weary, to him the rulers of this world are like wind-blown chaff, he sits enthroned over the circle of the earth. Yes.

 The rest of the day was normal, until our non-stress test. The baby's heart-rate was fine. What was concerning was that I was having contractions about two to three minutes apart. No prenatal class for us!

We were sent to the hospital by the midwife to get further tests/monitoring. As we drove, I tried to keep down the panic. At 33 weeks, your body shouldn't be doing this. Our baby is breech, so she's in no position (pun intended) to be born. We were not expecting this.

As we pulled into the hospital, my phone beeped. I had received a text from my friend Melody. It read, "I've been praying for you. Do you guys need anything?" I was blown away. God knew! He knew exactly what was going on and more than that, had prompted a friend by the Holy Spirit to be praying. We went in with a sense of peace, despite the uncertainties.

 After some tests and observations, the contractions stopped, and we got the go-ahead to go home. What a whirlwind!

 Late last night and this morning, I felt like returning to Isaiah 40 again. This time, a new section stood out to me:

"Why would you ever complain, O Jacob, or, whine, Israel, saying, “God has lost track of me. He doesn’t care what happens to me”? Don’t you know anything? Haven’t you been listening? God doesn’t come and go. God lasts. He’s Creator of all you can see or imagine. He doesn’t get tired out, doesn’t pause to catch his breath. And he knows everything, inside and out." (Isaiah 40-27-30, Message)

I was also struck by the position of the promise about God leading those with young. It is right before "who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand" (verse 12).

We serve a powerful God. He is magnificent, mighty, all-knowing, never-ceasing. And yet, he leads us like a shepherd, knows when we're headed into the hospital, knows our names. He hasn't lost track of us. Not a one.

All day, I've been thinking of the song, "He knows my name." This afternoon, I thought, "He knows my baby's name, too...that means he must know everyone's name...yikes." We have the comfort of God knowing us intimately. This we like. We also have the knowledge that God cares just as intimately for those whom we find hard to love. This. is. hard.

The political candidate we don't like? He knows his name. 
The co-worker we struggle to respect? He knows her name. 
Those who have injured us, behind our backs or to our face. He knows their names. 

He hasn't lost track of them either. Not a one. 

One of the most powerful exercises I was ever asked to do was to read Psalm 139 aloud, changing every "me" to a name of a person or group I struggled to accept.

I don't know what you need today. Maybe you need to remember that God is real and really present. The text I received proves that. Maybe you need to look at someone else with eyes of an all-powerful God who still choses to love. Scripture is pretty clear on this, too. He knows us. He knows. 

Another song to listen to this week...may it speak to you the way it speaks to me. Until next time!