God Knows Your Name

Last year my family went on a vacation to the Caribbean, and one beautiful day we ventured onto the white sands and crystal waters, prepared for a beautiful day of sun and fun.

This particular beach offered lots of family activities, including paddle boats, kayaks, snorkeling and a water trampoline. Two of my children were not interested in jumping on the water trampoline, due to its’ long distance from the shore, however, my fearless ten year old daughter was pleading with me to allow her to play on it, and reassuring me it was perfectly safe.

Against my better judgment, but being confident of her swimming abilities, I agreed. About fifteen minutes after she had swum off into the distance, I lost sight of her. I strained my eyes looking for her, trying to pick her little head out of all the other bobbing heads in the ocean, but they all looked the same so far away. Finally out of sheer panic, I convinced my husband to swim out and look for her.

After what seemed like forever, he finally reached the trampoline, and although I could not see his face, I could see his body language change, as he searched for her on, around, and even under this huge blown up water toy. He jumped off the trampoline and began swimming to another water activity even further into the ocean. He was yelling out her name, and even total strangers joined in and began calling her name as well. Simultaneously on the sand, I was begging the beach guard to take the rescue boat out, and he finally did, but could not locate her.

Twenty more minutes passed, and I had fallen into a sheer state of panic and despair, tears streaming down my face, barely breathing, and repeating out loud, the words, “no! no! no!”. My other two children clung to me, crying and worrying about their sister. My oldest daughter was blaming herself and regretting that she had not gone out with her to play in the water.

In my heart, I fought off the fear that my daughter had perished in the strong currents. I prayed and cried to God for his mercy on her, not to take her little life, but instead to save her. Rescue her. Bring her back to me safely.

Minutes later, as my heart was beating out of my chest, I saw them - my husband, and my little girl, swimming towards the shore. My legs felt weak, and I dropped to my knees. I thanked God for this blessing, and for His mercy on us. When they finally arrived to shore, I grabbed my precious daughter and held her tightly in my arms. Her confusion quickly turned to tears, because all the while, she had just been having fun, and had no idea that we were fretting over where she was. She had been completely unaware that we were frantically searching for her.

Later as I thought back on this scary ordeal, I thought about how God must ache for His lost children. He loves His children more than I can love my own, and scripture tells us He is yearning to rescue those who are lost (Psalm 50:14-15). Many people live out day after day, completely unaware that God is searching for them and frantically calling their name.

If you have never truly accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior, dear friend, know that He is searching for YOU today, and He wants you to find Him. Maybe you read my blog frequently or other Christian blogs, simply for daily encouragement and to give you something positive to think about. But you are missing out on what God has in store for you if you do not know Him as your Father.

If you feel like you are drowning in the sea of life, take heart in the truth that Jesus is searching for you, anxiously waiting for the moment when your eyes will meet, and He can wrap His loving arms around you, and rescue you. He is patiently waiting for you to hear Him calling your name, so that he can rejoice in knowing that you have been found.

God knows YOUR name… He is calling YOU… are you listening?

Luke 15:5-6 And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, “Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep”.