Does The Universe Know Your Name

Have you ever caught yourself saying — or heard someone close to you say — “the universe has my back”? 

What if the universe doesn’t actually know your name? 

This episode takes a honest, compassionate look at why so many people are reaching toward something cosmic, what they’re really searching for, and why the answer they’re looking for is far more personal than they think.

Check out our YouTube Channel “You Finishing Well” and our website: www.youfinishingwell.com 

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Stay strong, pure, and like Christ - Thanks for taking the journey with me! 

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:01

Hey everybody, and welcome back to my podcast, You Finishing Well. This is Tim Owen. So, who do you know, or are you one of those people that worships the universe? Do we kind of look for direction from the universe? What's going on with that when people talk about that? So, is it God or is it the universe? Let's talk about it. So, I'm pretty sure that everybody has heard the phrase maybe from a friend or at work or you've scrolling through social media, and you hear things like, the universe just told me this was right, or maybe I'm just putting it out there for the universe. And I really think there's a kind of a popular one I've heard lately. The universe has my back. So here's what I want to ask you today: what does this actually mean? You know, because if we kind of slow down for just a second and think about what the universe actually is, I think it matters. I mean, it's motion, it's stars dying billions of miles away, it's gas and gravity and darkness and distance. It basically, in a word, is a system. I mean, I don't know what you believe about it, but I think you would agree with me that it doesn't have eyes or a voice or a will. It doesn't have, quote, you in mind, does it? So who or what are people when they mention the universe, what are they actually talking about? You know, I think when people actually say the universe, they probably, I don't really know, but they're probably not talking about space. I mean, they know something is there. They have this feeling. I don't think they just know exactly what to call it, and rather than call it God, now again, I'm just speculating here. For you people who who who believe in the universe, let me know. You know, give me some feedback. But I think you're just calling it the universe. And the question that I have is why? Because the universe, I mean, I think it's a thing that people can feel comfortable with. It's kind of non-threatening, it doesn't judge, it doesn't really even require a response. I don't think, I mean, the universe, can it look back at you? I mean, I just don't think it can. So when someone says the universe is leading me, I think what they're usually saying is I feel strongly about this, and I want permission to trust that feeling. And again, I'm speculating here. I'm just not really sure. But here's where I think it gets a little interesting because the universe conveniently, listen, it conveniently always agrees. I mean, whatever it is you want to do, the universe confirms it. Whatever direction you're already leaning, the universe validates it. I mean, it never says no. And if you think it's telling you no, you're in agreement with that no. You're not in disagreement. It never pushes back, it never tells you that you might be making a mistake. Or does it? Or does it? I mean, I just don't think that's guidance. I think that's just you. Listen, just be open for a minute. Maybe just talking to yourself and you're calling it something cosmic. You know, I again, I'm not sure. I'm not saying that your feeling isn't real, and I'm not saying that the intuition that you're feeling doesn't exist, and I'm not saying there aren't any genuine moments of clarity that comes into your life. What I am saying is when we look for the source of those moments and we land on a system instead of a person, I think something significant has probably gone wrong. In the Bible, in Romans 125, the apostle Paul says, they traded the truth about God for a lie. They worshiped and they served created things instead of the creator who is praised for err forever. So listen to that. It's the created things instead of the creator. The universe is a created thing. I mean, the it is the most magnificent, it's the most staggering, incomprehensible created thing. But it still is a creation. It was made. Listen, it was made. It did not make itself. And when we take creation, even something as vast and breathtaking as the cosmos, and we assign it to the attributes, to the one who made it, we've done exactly what Paul described. We have made a trade, a truth for a lie, the creator for something that he created. And here's what I hope that you might hear, because this is the part that kind of keeps me going in conversations with people who just don't believe this. The desire that people have when they reach for quote the universe, I think the desire is real. And it is right. The longing for something bigger than yourself, the sense that life really isn't random, the intuition that meaning really does exist, and the hope, even that something or someone is actually watching. And so I don't think that's a delusion, and I don't think it's wishful thinking, but that is, in my opinion, the fingerprint of God on a human soul. King David wrote it this way in Psalm 19:1. He said, The heavens declare the glory of God, and the skies announce what his hands have made. So even the universe, the very thing that people are praying to, it in and of itself is pointing somewhere. It's kind of a billboard, but it's not a destination. It's a signpost, but it's not the road. And every star in the sky is screaming, I think, there is a maker, and I am not the answer. The problem isn't the longing that we have for him. The problem is to redirect. So let me give you an analogy. Imagine you're lost in an unfamiliar city. You're trying to find your way, you look around, and you see a road sign, an actual sign bolted to a pose, pointing toward downtown. Now, here's my question. Do you walk up to the sign, talk to the sign, and ask the sign to guide you? Now, I'm not being facetious. I'm being, I mean, would you do that? Or do you follow where the sign is pointing? Because that's what people are really doing when they pray to the universe. They're having a conversation with a sign, and they're asking the billboard for directions. They're ignoring the one sign that designates them toward a creator. The universe isn't the guide. The universe is the evidence. It's the evidence of a creator. And that kind of brings me to a question, or maybe a question underneath a question. Why does all of this matter in what we call it? You know, should we call it a universe? Should we call it God? Why does it matter? Because I have had people honestly say, Tim, if someone feels connected to something bigger, isn't that basically the same thing? Why are you being so technical about it? Well, here's my answer. Because the difference between a relationship and a concept is the difference between being known and being alone. The universe, listen, doesn't know your name. It doesn't know your history. It has no memory of what you've been through. It just doesn't. It can't enter into your grief and it can't celebrate your victories. It can't love you. But the God who made the universe, he knows exactly who you are. He does. Jesus says it plainly when he said in Luke twelve, six, what is the price of five sparrows? A couple of pennies? Not much. But God does not forget even one of them. In fact, even all the hairs on your head have been counted. By the way, there's an exclamation mark at the end of that. So don't be afraid. You are worth more than sparrows. Here's the truth. The God of the universe, and I really mean this literally, has counted, I know this is hard to believe, but he has counted the hairs on your head. He hasn't just noticed you from a distance, he is present in you, with you, and more specific, he knows the detail in your personal life. And that's not what you get from a concept. That's what you get from a father. A father who really knows his children. And here's where I want to speak directly to anyone listening who just really doesn't believe what I'm saying. Or maybe you were at some point, and now life has happened and you've maybe backed away. Maybe you were a believer at one time. I am not asking you to believe everything all at once today as you hear me talking about this. What I am asking, though, is for you to consider the difference between a universe that is indifferent to you, a system that has never once thought about you, it hasn't, and a God who formed you, who knows you, and has been pursuing you, listen, for your entire life. And one of those relationships is real. And deep down, I think you're already suspect to it. And for those of you who do believe, let me say this carefully because it's kind of a challenge. Sometimes we talk about God the way people talk about the universe. We just do. It's vague, it's distance, it's kind of a force we consult when we need confirmation. It's sort of a presence that we acknowledge on Sunday or manage around the rest of the week. We say we believe in a personal God, and then we live like he's a concept. It's just true. The same trade Paul described in Romans, we're not immune to it just because we call it call him by the right name. We just aren't. The question for you isn't just what you call God, it's how close you actually let him be to you. So let me kind of bring this in. The next time you're in a conversation, someone says, Well, you know, the universe has been speaking to me. Don't argue with them, and don't roll your eyes and don't launch into some kind of a religious lecture. Just don't do that. But I do want you to lean in. I mean, be you bel you didn't believe in Jesus at one time if you're a believer, and now you are. So be patient and don't judge people. Because what they're telling you is this, I think. I believe something is out there. And I believe there is meaning. And I believe something bigger than me is somehow involved in my life. And I think, in my opinion, that is a wide open door. So I say we walk through it gently and respectfully. Ask questions. And when the moment's right, and you don't have to preach to anyone, you just have to point. The universe did not make you. It doesn't guide you. It doesn't know you. But the God who made the universe, he does, and he always has. Genesis 1:1, man. In the beginning, God created the sky and the earth. He created the universe. Before the stars, before the planets, before space itself had a name, there was God and He made it all. So not that you worship creation, but just you say this so you and I and them can find their way back to God. So I don't know if this has swayed you any, or at least it kind of opened a can of ideas and thoughts and questions that need to be answered. But my hope is that you will see truth. My hope is that you will know that God knows you. The universe cannot and did not create itself. It just didn't. Well, let me pray for us real quick and close with a prayer. Lord, we do live in a world that really is searching. People are searching, they're desperately searching for some of them, and people are reaching for you every single day, but sometimes they just call it something else because no one has told them who you really are. We really hold back in standing up and speaking up. And I pray that we would do that more, but be gracious about it. Just be nice. Or maybe there are some people that were hurt by religion, and maybe they've just pulled back. Or maybe life got so hard that a vague universe feels safer than a God who might demand something from them. But you know every one of these stories, you do. So I ask today, let the words of this conversation land somewhere. Let them hopefully land in a heart that's tired of talking to the sky. And let them land in a believer who let you become a concept instead of a relationship. And I just pray you remind us today, you're not distant, you're not silent, you're not indifferent. You do know my name. You have counted every head, every excuse me, every hair on my head. You pursued me before I ever had the language or the desire to pursue you. There is no universe that knows me like you know me. And there's no system that loves, but you do. You love deeply and personally and relentlessly. So I want to thank you that we don't have to put anything out there in the cosmos and just hope for the best. Honestly, we can just come directly to you. And I thank you for that, and we pray these things in Jesus' name. Amen. Okay, my good people. Just try praying to God. See what happens. And until next time, I'll talk to you later.