For two days in a row, the LORD has woken me up at 4:44 am.

It is said that 444 is actually the extreme level of number 4. It is usually said that number 444 is the world number and the number of Damascus, the oldest city in the world.

And when it comes to Damascus, for all those given by the Father unto the Son, the road to Damascus is an experience we all find ourselves partaking of in some way or form.

For the “Road to Damascus” refers to a sudden turning point in one's life. As a spiritual metaphor, it is in reference to the conversion to Christianity of the apostle Paul while literally on the road to Damascus from Jerusalem. Prior to that moment, Paul had been called Saul, and was a Pharisee who persecuted followers of Jesus.

According to the Bible, the number 444 is also associated with the ministry of Christ. His active ministry on the road lasted 444 days until the moment he was crucified.

Damascus means “the eye of the whole East.” And is it not written that Jesus shall come from the East? Just like the rising sun appears first in the East? And is Jesus not the morning star? “For as lightning that comes from the east is visible even in the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.” (Matthew 24:27).

May we all lift up our eyes and look to the East to the high hill from which our help comes from (Psalm 121:1). And in so doing, may we all encounter Jesus in a powerful way, just like Saul, so that not only may we find our true calling, which is when our eyes will be opened after three days, but so that He who calls us by name (Isaiah 43:1), may also bestow upon us a new name. Our true name.

And if you think there is nothing in a name, is it not written that Jesus has a name above all names? And just like His name is above all names, is Jesus also not above all? For does Ephesians 1:20-21 not also tell us, “which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come.”

For just like Jesus was given a name above all names, we shall all find our true identity and purpose in our name. The name we are each given when we meet face-to-face with He who will perfect all that concerns us (Psalm 138:8), and who, before the foundations of time, planned the good works we shall do (Ephesians 2:10).

Which is when we all meet with our Jesus face-to-face on highway 444, the spiritual road of encounter from Jerusalem to Damascus.