Ever receive an unexpected notification in the mail informing you of some change you never saw coming? Lately I’ve been feeling like an unseen, unheard, undervalued, underserved, underappreciated but definitely overcharged entity. That’s right – I said entity, not person, not human being. Why? I’ve been outsourced. In fact, I’ve been outsourced, or maybe traded is a better word – actually sold is a more accurate word. I have been sold multiple times by multiple nameless, faceless companies who don’t seem to care about me or to have my best interests at heart. (of course that makes the false assumption that they even have a heart)

First, my email provider (is that a real person or a group of real people?) sold me, along with millions of other customers I assume, to another email provider. No one asked me what I thought about this move, no one asked me what I wanted, no one presented me with any options from which to choose. I just received a notice (via email of course) that I had been outsourced to another email provider. The deal was already done. I had been happy with my original email choice for many years. (if not, I would have switched on my own) This is definitely a downgrade. I am not happy with my new provider. But no one cares. Perhaps because there is no actual person to care about my plight (or about the plight of the other millions of people outsourced). You and I, and the rest, we are not known to the companies who supposedly serve our needs. We are nameless, we are faceless, we are voiceless – we are dollar amounts to them and that is all.

Then there’s my power company. Years ago they were a locally owned business. You could talk to a real person on the phone, a person who was local, not someone across the ocean. Then they were sold to a larger, non-local company. Rates went up, service went down. Now they are being bought out by an even larger, global entity. Rates are going up. Service will continue to decline as we, the customers, are all handed over or outsourced to this bigger company. It was not our choice. It certainly wasn’t my choice. The power company that’s supposed to serve us, sold all of us to the highest bidder. To them we are nameless, to them we are faceless, to them we are voiceless – to them we are only dollar amounts. Myself and all those who live in this same area – we have all been outsourced.

As if all this isn’t enough, I just got a notice in the mail that my credit card of many years is outsourcing me, and of course all holders of this card, to a different, larger credit card company. If I had wanted this other company’s card I would have gotten it. Over the years I have been satisfied with my card and the services it has provided me. We have had a long and mutually beneficial relationship, this card and I. But now I am sold (along with others) to the highest bidder. I thought they cared about me as a customer, if not as a person. I guess I was wrong. To them I am nameless, to them I am faceless, they do not care to hear my voice – to them I am only a dollar amount. I am a commodity to be bought and sold at will or at their whim.

Even my employer of many years (a school corporation) outsourced me and all subs to an outside agency a few years ago. It wasn’t personal. It was a financial decision. They traded all of us to an outside agency, so they were no longer responsible for overseeing our jobs. We were not a priority for them. They no longer wanted to be responsible for us. We were not asked about our preference in the matter. To them I, and my colleagues, were invisible. We were nameless, faceless and voiceless to our former employer. We were a dollar amount – a financial liability that had to be disposed of quickly – hence we were outsourced.

All this leaves me feeling very insignificant. Do you ever feel that way too? – unseen, unknown, unheard – at the mercy of decisions made by someone far away who does not know you or what you need or want. Corporations and companies will never care about me. They have no interest in my opinions, my concerns, or my needs. To them I am a nameless number.

BUT – GOOD NEWS! There is Someone who cares about me and about you, dear readers. There is Someone who sees me, knows me, hears me and cares for me. It is the Creator of the universe, who is also my Heavenly Father. He is a personal God. Not like all these companies that want my business, say they will provide me a service and then turn around and sell me off to the highest bidder against my will and without any warning. I cannot trust these corporations, which are always changing. But I can trust God. He never changes!

“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” (Hebrews 13:8)

In this world of constant change, that promise is so reassuring to me. Also reassuring, if not downright astonishing, is what God’s word says about me (and you) being known by name –

“But now, this is what the Lord says – He who created you, O Jacob, He who formed you, O Israel; ‘Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are Mine.’ ” (Isaiah 43:1)

“He determines the number of the stars and calls them each by name.” (Psalm 147:4)

“See, I have engraved you on the palms of My hands; your walls are ever before Me.” (Isaiah 49:16)

about me and you being seen by our Creator –

“My frame was not hidden from You when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, Your eyes saw my unformed body.” (Psalm 139:15-16)

“The eyes of the Lord are everywhere, keeping watch on the wicked and the good.” (Proverbs 15:3)

“She (Hagar) gave this name to the Lord who spoke to her: ‘You are the God who sees me,’ for she said, ‘I have now seen the One who sees me.’ ” (Genesis 16:13)

about me and you being heard by our Creator –

“I love the Lord, for He heard my voice; He heard my cry for mercy. Because He turned His ear to me, I will call on Him as long as I live.” (Psalm 116:1-2)

“In my distress I called to the Lord; I cried to my God for help. From His temple He heard my voice; my cry came before Him, into His ears.” (Psalm 18:6)

about me and you being greatly valued –

“The Lord your God is with you, He is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you. He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing.” (Zephaniah 3:17)

“For I am the Lord, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior; I give Egypt for your ransom, Cush and Seba in your stead. Since you are precious and honored in My sight, and because I love you, I will give men in exchange for you, and people in exchange for your life.” (Isaiah 43:3-4)

“The Lord appeared to us in the past, saying: ‘I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with loving-kindness.’ ” (Jeremiah 31:3)

You and I are known, known personally by name! You and I are seen, we are heard and we are greatly valued and loved by the God who created each one of us in His image. While everyone around me currently seems only too eager to outsource me to someone else, I can trust that my Heavenly Father will never outsource me, or you either, dear reader. God will never outsource our care to anyone or to anything else. He doesn’t need the money. He can’t be bought. “The cattle on a thousand hills are already His.” So take heart. The world may outsource us. God will not! Jesus said –

“My sheep listen to My voice; I know them, and they follow Me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of My Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.” (John 10:27-30)

There it is. You and I will NOT be outsourced – ever! We are held securely in our Heavenly Father’s hands. We can trust Him to take care of us.

“The Lord will keep you from all harm – He will watch over your life; the Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore.” (Psalm 121:7-8)

sincerely, Grace Day