“Before I was born the Lord called me; from my mother’s womb he has spoken my name.”
Isaiah 49:1 (NIV)
There’s no doubt that it makes us feel special when someone knows our name, especially when we least expect them to. Isaiah said it more than once, that God called our name while we were in the womb. Jesus said that He calls us, His sheep, by name, and then leads us out. Where did He lead us out to? The very first place He led us out of, is the womb, on the day we were born.
Not every scripture is to be taken literally, but what if God really did call our name while we were in the womb. It’s too bad we have no memory of it, but we can still imagine how it was. Think for a moment that at some point in your prenatal development, the voice of God spoke your name, while you were floating around blissfully in amniotic fluid.
Then the day of your birth took place, which was a stark transition from the comfort and security of the womb to the bright lights and cold atmosphere of a delivery room. Suddenly, there were new sounds and shadows of people outside the womb, which is unpleasant at first, in contrast to the warmth of the past months. You let out your first cry and then ‘life after birth’ begins.
From then on, we hear our name called by parents, grandparents, siblings, friends, a spouse, and others. Years erase the memory of the prenatal voice of God, as we learn to discern the inner voice of His Spirit, who guides us in non-audible ways. He speaks through our conscience, and whispers in our heart, in prayer, or by reading scripture, through music, and by the words of others who inspire us.
We may even feel at times that something is missing because we subconsciously long for that divine voice we first heard in the womb.
When we see our name on a note, a greeting card or banner celebrating a birthday, graduation or anniversary event, we naturally rejoice. Jesus once told us that having our names written in heaven, is reason for the greatest rejoicing. (Luke 10:20)
I have a story about once seeing my name written, where I never expected to see it. After settling in my current home in 2019, I searched on a website to buy the right painting to hang on a long bare wall in my living room. To make it even more meaningful, I specifically looked for a landscape scene of a particular area of Greece where my father grew up.
I found a painting on canvas, showing the Peloponnese mountains in the background, with six boats docked in the foreground. It was 5 ft long and would fill in the wall space perfectly, so I ordered it.
When it arrived, I was looking at the details up close, and each boat had a name on it, but the letters were partly covered, except for one boat. To my surprise, on the fourth boat from the left, I saw my first name in Greek. (Μαρία) It was as if God was saying ‘hello’ to me, through that picture. My name was the clearest one to read on any of the boats. A painting I ordered to fill in a blank wall, turned out to be an unexpected blessing.
The voice of God who first called our name in the womb is the voice we now hear with the ‘ear of our hearts’. He will call our name again one day, when He leads us from here to our eternal home in heaven with Him.
Lord, remind us today that you are always speaking to our hearts in various ways, whispering our name to guide and comfort us with your divine Presence. Amen
