What's My Name?
“A person's name is to him or her the sweetest and most
important sound in any language.” – Dale Carnegie
Names can either be empowering or can cause great damage. Remember the rhyme we heard as children? “Stick and stones may break my bones, but words will _______?” You can fill in the blank by yourself. In reality, words, names can wound the spirit and crush a person’s whole being. As such, spiritual healing needs to take place in order to put aside those harsh bruises to the human soul.
1. Know your name. As we read the scriptures, we see that throughout the Bible, the people were very intentionally named and the meaning of their name became an important part of their identity. Individuals were challenged to live up to their name. We also read about names that were changed in order to bring about a new calling or purpose in their live.
Abram”s name, meaning high father, was changed to Abraham, father of a multitude as he heard God’s call on his life to begin a new chapter in his life (Genesis 12). Sarai his wife, whose name meant my princess, had a name change to Sarah, mother of nations.
Here’s a partial list of biblical name changes:
- Jacob becomes Israel (Genesis 32)
- Simon becomes Peter (John 1, Matthew 16)
- Saul becomes Paul (Acts 13)
God’s purpose and plans were placed and fulfilled through these examples. In other cases in the scriptures, we can see how individuals were challenged to live up to their name. Regardless, knowing what your name means can be a powerful tool in your personal armor.
How was your name chosen by your family? What is the meaning of your name? What about nicknames? Explore the history of your name online. Through that activity, I discovered a lot of things that I have known about myself for years. As I did the search, I realized that I was living into my name without even knowing it.
2. Know God’s names for you. Whether or not you have experienced emotional damage from name calling by others, God has very specific names for those who are Christ followers. These are precious and words that we need to hear in our soul!
Here are a few that come to mind:
- Children of God
- Adopted
- Redeemed
- Made a little lower than the angels
- Heirs of the Kingdom
- One in whom Christ dwells
- Co-laborers with Christ
- Righteous
- Part of a royal priesthood
- Beloved
- Friends
- Treasured
- Precious
- Forgiven
The list goes on and on. A tool I like to use to do scripture study is www.biblegateway.com. You can choose what translation in your search and get specific verses to go even deeper in knowing who you are in Christ.
3. Rest in His presence. When you know who you are in Christ, bask in that knowledge. You are enough. You were known before the beginning of time, so rest in the fact that you know and are known by our heavenly Father.
A powerful way to personalize the scriptures is to insert your name in a passage. Here’s a short passage to practice and see the beautiful person that God has called you as His child. Insert your name where there is a blank space.
For you created my inmost being;
you knit __________ together in my mother’s womb.
14 I praise you because _________ is fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
________ knows that full well.
15 _________’s frame was not hidden from you
when ________ was made in the secret place,
when ________ was woven together in the depths of the earth.
16 Your eyes saw _______’s unformed body;
all the days ordained for _________ were written in your book
before one of them came to be.
17 How precious to me are your thoughts, God!
How vast is the sum of them! (biblegateway.com NIV)
Purpose in Your Prime helps Christian women over 50 discover their purpose for the next season life by gaining clarity and direction, culminating in an actionable plan for Kingdom contribution. www.purposeinyourprime.com
