Stop! Read the Isaiah passage. Now read it again slowly. Let it speak to you in your heart. Hear God’s voice calling you by name, speaking directly to you through the prophet Isaiah. This passage never ceases to touch me deep within. Sometimes it is the phrase “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you,” that gets my attention. Other times, it is “I have called you by name, you are mine,” that comforts my heart and fills me with joy. Sometimes “Do not fear, I am with you” is the message I need to receive in order to keep going.

Once, years ago, when I was going through a bad patch of failure and rejection, I found that each morning when I opened my journal and put pen to paper, the words from this passage “You are precious and I love you” flowed from my pen. Every day for six months or so, “You are precious and I love you.” Every day—just imagine! The words were healing balm to my wounded psyche. Day by day, the pain and embarrassment of failure and rejection drifted away as I came to realize that indeed Everything Belongs, as Richard Rohr puts it in his book of that title. In time, I was even able to recognize the blessing provided by that miserable period in my life and be forever grateful.

When we listen to voice of the Lord, miracles can happen. God is always speaking to us in one way or another, through creation, through dreams, through those around us, as well as through scripture. It is up to us to listen, to pay attention, to respond as we feel led. That is what Jesus did when, following his baptism, he heard the voice of the Lord say, “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased,” and the world has never been the same.