"Don’t be afraid,
I’ve redeemed you.
I’ve called your
name. You’re mine.
When you’re in over your
head, I’ll be there with you.
When you’re in rough
waters, you will not go down.
When you’re between a
rock and a hard place,
it won’t be a dead
end—
Because I am God, your
personal God,
The Holy of Israel,
your Savior."
(Isaiah 43:1b-3a)
I don't know about anyone
else, but these verses amaze me. God, the God of the universe, knows
my name and calls me his own. He wants to be there for me through it
all- through the rough waters, through the stress that threatens to
drown, through the activities that overfill my calendar, through the
messy relationships with imperfect people, and even through my own
mistakes. He wants to walk through all of it. Not because he has to,
not because there's someone guilting him into it. No, it's just
because he wants to; he loves me that much.
I just finished reading Ann Voskamp's
book "One Thousand Gifts." In it, she is on a quest to live
up to her name- Ann, which means "full of grace." And it
got me thinking about names, about how we all seem to live up to our
own names whether or not our parents purposely gave us those names
with those meanings. It made me wonder- did God play a part in the
naming of us? Did he guide our parents to certain names? I know that
in the Bible, a name always describes something about the person who
receives it.
For example, Isaac means "laughter."
When Sarah heard that she would be pregnant in her old age within the
year, she laughed at the angels' proclamations. Didn't they know that
ship had sailed a long time ago? Didn't they know how old she was?
How long she'd waited to become a mother?
"Abraham and Sarah were old by
this time, very old. Sarah was far past the age for having babies.
Sarah laughed within herself, 'An old woman like me? Get pregnant?
With this old man of a husband?'" (Genesis 18:11-12)
And how about Elizabeth? She too was
past the age of conceiving according to the world. She was considered
barren and had given up on the idea of ever getting pregnant when God
made it happen in his perfect timing. In that story, an angel
actually tells her husband what they are to name the baby. And the
name? John, which means "gift from God." And there's no
arguing it. John definitely was a gift. There was nothing the two
could have done on their own to make it happen. (Luke 1)
And then there's the story of Jacob
whose name means "holder of the heel" or "supplanter"
(and that one means basically that he's an overthrower). He was born
into the world holding the heel of his brother. It's how the Bible
says he got his name. He even overthrows his brother when he takes
the birthright and the blessing that rightfully belong to Esau. Later
on in his life story, he wrestles God who changes his name to Israel.
And what does that name mean? "God wrestler" or "God
fighter." (Genesis 32:28)
These verses about Jacob? They lead me
to the conclusion that a name can be something that we still need to
grow into as well. My oldest is a great follower. Give him a job and
he'll do it without complaint. Put his younger brother in the leader
position and the older can work with him to accomplish many things.
His name means "manly king." A king is a leader. My son is
not yet a leader, nor is he quite the man he will one day be. He has
to grow into those. It's my prayer that by speaking those truths into
existence, that God will honor it and teach him to be a great leader.
Maybe one day he will lead his own family, his own friends, or even
his own company. I pray that he will be a leader worth following- a
God-loving leader.
My daughter nearly received my own
middle name as hers since it's a family name handed down through
several generations. It means "famous warrior." But
something held me back from that decision. I wonder now if God was
guiding us to the rightful, more fitting name for our girl. Her given
name basically means "happy little flower." You see, she is
already a warrior. She already has that fight in her. The thing she
needs to develop within her? It's her name. It's that inner joy that
only God can give. That is the thing that my daughter must grow into.
My prayer for her is that she grows to love God so much that she can
be happy no matter her circumstances, that she can find joy whether
life is good or bad. (Philippians 4:11-13)
When it comes to my own name, I never
actually liked it much growing up. In fact, at the age of 35 I'm
still not a big fan of my name. But in studying it, in looking at the
meaning and the challenge within my name, my heart is softening to
it. You see, my own name means "follower of Christ" and
"famous warrior" since I have both a first and a middle
name. On their own, on the surface, I appear to be both of these
things. I am most definitely a follower of Christ. I love Jesus and
strive to do his best in my life. I am also willing to fight on the
big hills in my life. It's when they are joined that we find that
thing that I must grow into. Combined, I think that the two mean that
I must grow into being a fighter for Christ. That is my own personal
path that I'm walking.
Now that we've talked about names, I
have some questions for you to consider:
1. What do each of your names mean?
2. How did you get them?
3. Do you feel like the meaning of your
names matches up with who you are now?
4. Do you need to grow into your name?
5. What happens if you put the two
meanings together? Does it change the way you are challenged as mine
did above?
In closing, I want to pray for us.
Dear God,
I pray now for everyone who's reading
this blog now or in the future. I pray that you bring redemption for
names given in haste or for names that are disliked. I pray that,
like I am beginning to now, those reading this who hate their own
names would find beauty in the ashes of their names. I ask that you
challenge each one of us through these names and reveal yourself in
them. Show us where you want us to grow and how we can get to the
place that you're leading. It says in your word that our names are
written in your book of life when we come to know and love you and
your son. It says that we are your sheep and you are our shepherd.
Guide us now Lord. Call us by name. Show us your unending love in our
lives today and give us eyes to see those blessings. I am so good at
seeing the bad, Lord. Show me the good. Show me the blessings that
are there everyday that I've missed.
Thank you for loving us, Lord. In your
name, amen.
