“But now, thus says the Lord, who created you, O Jacob, and He who formed you, O Israel: ‘Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name; you are mine.” Isaiah 43:1

A few months ago are family got a new dog. He came with a great name but would not respond to it. We tried out a few new names and still nothing. We all agreed on Charlie and began to say it an obnoxious amount of times. We gave treats and encouragement but still no response. We kept at it and I am happy to report he now knows his name.

Another challenge when our dog was new is he likes to run and is incredibly fast. A few times he escaped and was hard to catch. It was all a game to him and he was unaware of the danger outside of our fence. He doesn’t do that anymore.

Do you want to know what I think made all the difference? Charlie knows he belongs to us and is loved. He is taken care of, played with and spoken to with kind words. He is disciplined appropriately and is still learning shoes are not chew toys. He has really taken to one of our girls, who needed him the most. He seems to know these kind of things. I have heard about other dogs with this strong sense of knowing who needs care.

What I have watched in a dog, I have seen in my own life. Knowing to whom I belong, that I am loved beyond measure, known by name and have no reason to fear, has made all the difference. My Heavenly Father is well able to take care of what belongs to Him. I accept His discipline because I know He loves me too much not to. Friend, if you do not know this kind of love, acceptance and belonging, I pray you will not waste another day running. There is nothing like being known by your Redeemer.