Harry Emerson Fosdick was one of the greatest American preachers of this century. He described his preaching as counseling on a large scale. Few people knew that as a young seminary student he reached the breaking point after working one summer in a New York Bowery mission. He went home and was overcome by deep depression. One day he stood in the bathroom with a straight razor to his throat. He thought about taking his own life. And then — and then he heard his father in the other room calling his name, “Harry! Harry!” It called him back. He never forgot it. It was like the voice of God calling him.
So I want to remind you today that in those times when you are in the wilderness, trying to find your way through, and when temptation comes and offers you the wrong answer, the wrong choice — the wrong use of power, the way to popularity, the wrong kind of partnership — then you remember that God has called your name: “This is my beloved son, my beloved daughter, in whom I am well pleased.” And, you remember that because God has called your name He will see you through.
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Thomas A. Pilgrim, The Man From Galilee, CSS Publishing Company