Saved by Grace Thoughts 07.20.2009

Isaiah 43:1
But now, this is what the LORD says – he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine.”

Isaiah 49:16
See, I have engraved you (NLT: your name) on the palms of my hands; your walls are ever before me.


Hello friends!
It has been some time since I typed up my last email to you, and a long time since I wanted to write this one out specifically. I hope you are well and learning in the Lord!

I’m currently reading a fiction novel called ‘Someone Knows My Name,’ based off of a collection of true stories summed together into one character named Aminata. It is a story of a girl kidnapped from Africa and taken to North Carolina (as well as other places) during the transatlantic slave trade. It is wonderfully written and gut-wrenching to read, all the more because the story is based on true events. Early in the book, shortly after Aminata is taken, the title of the book is revealed in the importance of the slaves remembering each other’s African names. In a perilous, dangerous, unfamiliar, and unfair place a character is comforted in knowing that someone – Aminata -- knows his name.

Although the parallel is far and a situation I cannot even imagine, when I was reading this moving part of the book I was reminded of how time and again in Scripture, God tells us that He knows us and will not forget us. In times of distress or difficulties, we can be comforted that Someone knows our name – and not just our name, but everything about us from our personality quirks to our deepest hurts and secrets. Even in the worst of situations that we cannot even fathom, God tells us that we belong to him. The Apostle Paul writes at the end of Romans 8, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called to his purpose,” and

“For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

What powerful words to remember! It is because of Christ that we can come to God and it is Christ that holds us fast to God, so that none will be lost. Whatever your present situation, I pray that the Holy Spirit reminds you of this and binds it up in your heart as an encouragement. If you struggle to see how in every situation God is still present, in this too God understands and I pray that he will reveal himself to you either through a friend or in stillness. May he continually be working in our hearts as we try to follow Christ.

In Love and in Christ,
Your sister,
Yvonne