“But the very hairs of your head are all numbered.” – Matthew 10:30

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I was reared in a family of thirteen children: five boys and eight girls. Lots of times, things were chaotic around our house. Not that anyone was naughty, just all of us doing our own thing at once. I can remember both my mom and my dad calling out names: “Sandy, Marie, Dickie, Lainie . . .”—all of us would sort of pause and listen. They would stumble through a long list of names until they reached the right one. I even remember my dad ending one of those episodes with, “You, with the glasses on,” which was not a whole lot better because half of us wore glasses! It could be frustrating to them and also very frustrating to the siblings.

In a family that size, I sometimes felt a little lost, especially when I was standing right in front of my parents and they could not come up with my name! Even in my church family, I was often confused with my sisters. One time, after addressing me by several of my sisters’ names, my pastor said to me, “Well, which one are you?” That did not make me feel very good. No one likes to be lost in the crowd.

Can you imagine that God, with His great big family, does not lose track of an individual? When God calls your name, He knows whom He is calling. He is not confused or thinking of another person—He really does mean you. He calls your name for a number of reasons; He first calls when He wants you to give Him your heart, and He also calls when He wants a deeper commitment or when He wants you to do something for Him.

Knowing that God keeps track of the hairs of our heads should give us confidence that we are well known to Him. From time to time, He may call your name and say, “Speak to this person,” or, “Send a card to this hurting one.” He might tell you, “Take dinner to the family next door,” or, “Come closer, I need to be with you.” These things are not figments of our imaginations; they are very real. When you hear the Lord call your name, pause and give attention to what He is saying. He knows exactly who you are!