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"But now thus says the Lord, He who created you, O Jacob, He who formed you, O Israel: 'Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are Mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you. For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior. ... Because you are precious in My eyes, and honored, and I love you, I give men in return for you, peoples in exchange for your life. Fear not, for I am with you; I will bring your offspring from the east, and from the west I will gather you. ... bring My sons from afar and My daughters from the end of the earth, everyone who is called by My Name, whom I created for My glory, whom I formed and made.'" (Isaiah 43:1-3a, 4-5a, 6b-7 ESV)
This is one of the bits of the Bible that I read most often when I am feeling sad or abandoned—when I'm wondering if God really cares about me, after all. God is speaking to the people of Israel, who are just about to go into exile from their homeland—but He's also speaking to us, every human being who has come to trust in Him and who lives under His care.
And this is what He says to us, most clearly: He says, "I love you." He says, "Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are Mine." We are not abandoned, we are not alone in the universe. The God who made everything has chosen us to be His very own. He has called us by our own names, so there is no danger He might have mistaken us for someone else! No, we really are the ones that He wants, the ones that He has chosen to be His treasure—difficult as that can be to believe.
And because we belong to Him, we are safe forever, no matter what may happen to us in our lives. As Jesus tells us, "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of My hand" (John 10:27-28). Death itself cannot destroy us; we belong to the One who died to break the power of evil over us, and who rose from the dead three days later—never to die again. With such a Savior, how could anything destroy us?
Why has He done all this? He says it very simply: "Because you are precious in My eyes, and honored, and I love you." The God of the universe is saying that to you, you personally: "I love you." And if anything more than His bare Word could be needed, He has signed this statement with His own blood.
With such a God, how can we do anything but live—and love Him back?
We pray: Dear Lord, turn my heart to You, and let me trust in You always. Amen.
This Daily Devotion was written by Dr. Kari Vo.
Originally published in The Lutheran Hour on January 7, 2025
Used by permission from International Lutheran Laymen’s League, all rights
Reflection Questions:
1. Do you find it easy or difficult to believe that someone could love you?
2. How do you know when someone loves you—what proves it to you?
3. What has God done for you so that you can trust in His love?
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