THREE ANGELS BROADCASTING NETWORK
I Know You By Name.
By Evelyn Hainey February 16th, 2026
“So the Lord said to Moses … ‘I know you by name.’” Exodus 33:17
“I can’t believe she brought that little boy with her,” the gray-haired lady walking directly in front of us said to her white-haired companion—loud enough for Jason and me to hear. I had recently joined the Knoxville Chapter of the Tennessee Ornithological Society and, at 30, I was the youngest member of the club. On this outing, though, I’d brought along my even younger friend, 10-year-old Jason.
“I know,” her companion responded. “We won’t be able to see a thing because he’ll scare all the birds away. If I’d known that little boy was coming, I would not have come on this field trip!”
I looked down at Jason. My bird book was clutched tightly in one of his hands while the other held onto a pair of borrowed binoculars, which were slung around his neck. This was his first organized birding trip and I hoped the comments from the ladies wouldn’t discourage him into making it his last. I knew he had an interest in birds. He’d found a screech owl in the woods and had recently come over to my house to count woodpeckers in my back yard.
“Did you find all the birds we hope to see today in that bird book?” I asked, in an effort to distract him.
“Sure did, and I can hardly wait to see them!” came his excited reply.
Good! They haven’t spoiled the day for him—yet, I thought. It should be a good day for shorebirds and other migrating waterfowl—not really the easiest for beginners, but Jason is well prepared.
Just then, the path opened up to a wide expanse of water. It was one of the ash-settling water treatment ponds next to the Tennessee Valley Authority’s Kingston Fossil Plant, a large coal-burning power plant west of Knoxville.
“Hey, little boy!” chirped one of the men in that condescending voice used by many on the very young, “Do you want to come see the birdie?” He’d just set up his high-powered spotting scope at the edge of the pond.
“Sure,” Jason replied, standing on tiptoe to see into the scope. “Oh,” he gasped in a low voice filled with awe, “it’s a loon with its winter coat on!”
Instantly, Jason’s fortunes changed. From that moment on, he had a name and was no longer “little boy.” The rest of the day, those older members of the Knoxville Ornithological Society eagerly fought over him as they shared their hard-earned birding information with a 10-year-old boy.
“Jason, have you seen . . .?”
“Jason, did you know . . .?”
“Jason, come see what we have here.”
That day, Jason had to prove his knowledge and interest in order to be accepted by the older members of the Society and gain access to their vast resources of knowledge developed from years of birding. He had to earn the right to be called by his given name. Yet, in our spiritual walk, Jesus doesn’t wait until we’ve earned our worth, or know the right answers, to grant us access to Him or His wealth of knowledge and mercy. Jesus calls us just as we are, saying, “Come to me …” (Matthew 11:28).
In Exodus 33:17, God said to Moses, “I know you by name ….” He knows each of our names, as well, writing them in the Book of Remembrance (Malachi 3:16). Our daily response of listening to and seeking for Jesus allows Him to show us “great and mighty things” we don’t know (Jeremiah 33:3).
I Know You By Name.
By Evelyn Hainey February 16th, 2026
“So the Lord said to Moses … ‘I know you by name.’” Exodus 33:17
“I can’t believe she brought that little boy with her,” the gray-haired lady walking directly in front of us said to her white-haired companion—loud enough for Jason and me to hear. I had recently joined the Knoxville Chapter of the Tennessee Ornithological Society and, at 30, I was the youngest member of the club. On this outing, though, I’d brought along my even younger friend, 10-year-old Jason.
“I know,” her companion responded. “We won’t be able to see a thing because he’ll scare all the birds away. If I’d known that little boy was coming, I would not have come on this field trip!”
I looked down at Jason. My bird book was clutched tightly in one of his hands while the other held onto a pair of borrowed binoculars, which were slung around his neck. This was his first organized birding trip and I hoped the comments from the ladies wouldn’t discourage him into making it his last. I knew he had an interest in birds. He’d found a screech owl in the woods and had recently come over to my house to count woodpeckers in my back yard.
“Did you find all the birds we hope to see today in that bird book?” I asked, in an effort to distract him.
“Sure did, and I can hardly wait to see them!” came his excited reply.
Good! They haven’t spoiled the day for him—yet, I thought. It should be a good day for shorebirds and other migrating waterfowl—not really the easiest for beginners, but Jason is well prepared.
Just then, the path opened up to a wide expanse of water. It was one of the ash-settling water treatment ponds next to the Tennessee Valley Authority’s Kingston Fossil Plant, a large coal-burning power plant west of Knoxville.
“Hey, little boy!” chirped one of the men in that condescending voice used by many on the very young, “Do you want to come see the birdie?” He’d just set up his high-powered spotting scope at the edge of the pond.
“Sure,” Jason replied, standing on tiptoe to see into the scope. “Oh,” he gasped in a low voice filled with awe, “it’s a loon with its winter coat on!”
Instantly, Jason’s fortunes changed. From that moment on, he had a name and was no longer “little boy.” The rest of the day, those older members of the Knoxville Ornithological Society eagerly fought over him as they shared their hard-earned birding information with a 10-year-old boy.
“Jason, have you seen . . .?”
“Jason, did you know . . .?”
“Jason, come see what we have here.”
That day, Jason had to prove his knowledge and interest in order to be accepted by the older members of the Society and gain access to their vast resources of knowledge developed from years of birding. He had to earn the right to be called by his given name. Yet, in our spiritual walk, Jesus doesn’t wait until we’ve earned our worth, or know the right answers, to grant us access to Him or His wealth of knowledge and mercy. Jesus calls us just as we are, saying, “Come to me …” (Matthew 11:28).
In Exodus 33:17, God said to Moses, “I know you by name ….” He knows each of our names, as well, writing them in the Book of Remembrance (Malachi 3:16). Our daily response of listening to and seeking for Jesus allows Him to show us “great and mighty things” we don’t know (Jeremiah 33:3).
THREE ANGELS BROADCASTING NETWORK
I Know You By Name.
By Evelyn Hainey February 16th, 2026
“So the Lord said to Moses … ‘I know you by name.’” Exodus 33:17
“I can’t believe she brought that little boy with her,” the gray-haired lady walking directly in front of us said to her white-haired companion—loud enough for Jason and me to hear. I had recently joined the Knoxville Chapter of the Tennessee Ornithological Society and, at 30, I was the youngest member of the club. On this outing, though, I’d brought along my even younger friend, 10-year-old Jason.
“I know,” her companion responded. “We won’t be able to see a thing because he’ll scare all the birds away. If I’d known that little boy was coming, I would not have come on this field trip!”
I looked down at Jason. My bird book was clutched tightly in one of his hands while the other held onto a pair of borrowed binoculars, which were slung around his neck. This was his first organized birding trip and I hoped the comments from the ladies wouldn’t discourage him into making it his last. I knew he had an interest in birds. He’d found a screech owl in the woods and had recently come over to my house to count woodpeckers in my back yard.
“Did you find all the birds we hope to see today in that bird book?” I asked, in an effort to distract him.
“Sure did, and I can hardly wait to see them!” came his excited reply.
Good! They haven’t spoiled the day for him—yet, I thought. It should be a good day for shorebirds and other migrating waterfowl—not really the easiest for beginners, but Jason is well prepared.
Just then, the path opened up to a wide expanse of water. It was one of the ash-settling water treatment ponds next to the Tennessee Valley Authority’s Kingston Fossil Plant, a large coal-burning power plant west of Knoxville.
“Hey, little boy!” chirped one of the men in that condescending voice used by many on the very young, “Do you want to come see the birdie?” He’d just set up his high-powered spotting scope at the edge of the pond.
“Sure,” Jason replied, standing on tiptoe to see into the scope. “Oh,” he gasped in a low voice filled with awe, “it’s a loon with its winter coat on!”
Instantly, Jason’s fortunes changed. From that moment on, he had a name and was no longer “little boy.” The rest of the day, those older members of the Knoxville Ornithological Society eagerly fought over him as they shared their hard-earned birding information with a 10-year-old boy.
“Jason, have you seen . . .?”
“Jason, did you know . . .?”
“Jason, come see what we have here.”
That day, Jason had to prove his knowledge and interest in order to be accepted by the older members of the Society and gain access to their vast resources of knowledge developed from years of birding. He had to earn the right to be called by his given name. Yet, in our spiritual walk, Jesus doesn’t wait until we’ve earned our worth, or know the right answers, to grant us access to Him or His wealth of knowledge and mercy. Jesus calls us just as we are, saying, “Come to me …” (Matthew 11:28).
In Exodus 33:17, God said to Moses, “I know you by name ….” He knows each of our names, as well, writing them in the Book of Remembrance (Malachi 3:16). Our daily response of listening to and seeking for Jesus allows Him to show us “great and mighty things” we don’t know (Jeremiah 33:3).
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