What’s in a Name?

Names are important. The rebel alliance wouldn’t have been nearly as intimidated by Darth Patsy. When God gave Adam the responsibility to name all the animals, it wasn’t to give him busywork because he kept asking God annoying questions. I think Adam named them according to what he saw in them, in their nature. When you name a child, you choose something that has a good meaning- powerful, beautiful, or a family line name. What you name a person or a place has a tremendous influence on what they will become. Some like to be unique, but you probably wouldn’t name your kid Gilligan Sasquatch just to be different.

In the Bible, Jacob’s name essentially meant “second place, but scheming for first.” Lovely name for a child. But when he was sick enough of that identity that he wrestled with God for a new one, God renamed him “Israel”, which means “prince.” Names can be changed. Not just the official names of people and places, but the everyday names you give yourself and your circumstances.

What are you naming yourself? Are you in the habit of calling yourself “stupid,” “idiot,” “failure,” or something worse? Even if no one else views you that way, seeing yourself as that is debilitating. You’re cutting your identity off from who you really are in God, and stuffing it into a sad little box in the corner. What are you naming your circumstances? “Unfair,” “terrifying,” and “overwhelming” are thoughts that go through all our heads, but you don’t have to give them a place to stay. You have the power in Jesus Christ to name things as He sees them.

You are not stupid. You are who God says you are. You are His brilliant child, completely at peace in Him, and able to make excellent decisions using that peace as your guide. You are able to receive His love, joy, patience, kindness, and hope, and overflow them into every situation you encounter today. Your circumstances do not control you. They don’t define you. Each one is an opportunity for God to demonstrate who He is, and who you’re becoming in Him. You’re not being overwhelmed by life, you’re celebrating it in His presence.

So . . . What is your name right now, and what are you going to call this day?