You have a legal name, but what words shaped or “named” you?
Prickly, Depressed, Promiscuous, Passive, Cowardly, Unsatisfying, Stupid, Fat, Irrational, Too Rational, The Black Sheep, Unlovely, Dry, Boring, Excessive, Wasteful, A Failure Just Like Your Daddy, Too Dreamy, A Wimp, Too Dangerous, Abandoned, Lazy, Alone, Worthless . . .
Once “named,” we decide how to live out of these identities.
• We reject them and we prove them wrong, or
• We embrace them and live under their spells, or
• We forget them even though they’ve marked and marred our character.
In each case, instead of living authentically, we live in reaction to words designed to crush our genuine identity and purpose. You’ll then hear phrases like:
• I’ll prove that idiot wrong, or
• I really do deserve this suffering and pain, or
• I keep trying, but something in me self-destructs, and I don’t know why.
“You know, boys would like you more if you just lost ten pounds,”
or
“How can you be such an f-ing idiot?”
These accusations, even if said in jest, steal our God ordained design, our very identity, replacing both with lies that diminish or crush our value.
Do you doubt that your name, that your identity matters?
In Genesis 35:18, as Rachel died giving birth, she named her child Ben-oni that means “son-of-my-sadness.” Jacob knew the child could be damaged by being reminded every day that he was the fruit of his mother’s death, so he kindly changed his name to Benjamin, meaning “son-of-my-right-hand.” How much of a difference did that make?
Even more so, in Genesis 32, God Himself replaced a name, radically changing an individual’s and even a whole people’s identity and purpose. The given name was Jacob, meaning “supplanter” as this man was a conniving liar. God changed his name to Israel that means “contender,” “fighter,” “prince,” “prevailer.” Can you see the impact and power of this new name, this new identity? Which one would you want?
Can God do this for you?
What would it mean if a name like “Unlovely” or “Weak & Unreliable” was replaced by “My Perfect Beloved” or “Valiant Warrior”? How might this change the trajectory of a life?
Do you think God still replaces words/names that have imprisoned us with names that give us a new identity, even freedom?
We at I Am Done not only believe it is so, we’ve seen it transform many lives. To learn more, consider attending one of our upcoming events. You can find them listed on our home page by clicking HERE.
