Ever wondered what your name means? Ever wondered why in the world did your parents or did someone name you when you were born and why they gave you that name?
I've thought that a few times too. But here's the thing, naming is part of our nature as Gods children. In fact everyone on every space of this Earth has in one manner or another put a 'name' to something, someone or place, etc. Think about it for a second for real ya'll, WE ALL in our lifetime have NAMED SOMETHING/SOMEONE/PLACE, and whatever we have named we call it by that name! For instance, my children name their special stuffed animals or security blankets and have special names for each other; my husband calls me a certain (sweet) name, I call my husband a certain (sweet) name and we have silly names we call our pets and we even have names for our family members (and yes they are cute lil nicknames). But the point is, WE 'NAME' THINGS/PEOPLE/PLACES etc! YOU NAME PEOPLE/PLACES/THINGS! Perhaps you have a special 'name' you call a friend or a nickname you call someone by or perhaps there's a place that you 'named' a certain name because it reminds you of something or someone. Or maybe its that awesome go-to desert of yours that you absolutely crave on that rainy day whom you give a secret code-name to in your heart. Whoever and whatever it is, the point is that we ALL 'name' things/people/places. We all do it, we all have done it and I can guarantee you we all will continue to do it because IT IS IN OUR HUMAN GOD-CREATED NATURE TO DO SO.
So how exactly is that part of our God created nature you ask? Well simple - God made/created/formed 'man' (Adam) and then gave him the authority to 'Name' all the 'living creatures that Yahweh created. We read this in Genesis 2: 19 - 20:
" And out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field and every fowl of the air, and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof. And Adam gave names to all cattle, and to the fowl of the air, and to every beast of the field, but for Adam there was not found an help meet for him."
So ADAM had the authority and the flexibility to actually call each creature by a NAME to give them their IDENTITY if you will. Now why would this be important? Well think about it for a second, this is one MAN who named how many living creatures?? Too many if you ask me. But the point is he gave names to ALL the living creatures. We don't know for certain how he did it so I won't go speculating how he did it (but I can imagine a little), but it had to have been a fun process indeed right. I read this verse and I imagine this guy - Adam - sitting in the garden and then out walks this two-legged feathery thing with a crest on its head and funny looking eyes and a beak and no arms but wings and who makes a funny sound and perhaps Adam says, 'You will be called CHICKEN/ROOSTER/TURKEY/ or 'WALKING BIRD!!" (you know to differentiate it from the flying bird right. lol). Then imagine what he thought of when he called a 'pig' a 'pig' or a horse a 'horse' or a cow a 'cow'! Adam SAW what the creatures were when they were brought to him and NAMED them accordingly! But get this, here is the coolest thing - You see whatever ADAM called these living creatures, THEIR NAME, had everything that makes them who they are! We can even go a step further and say their characteristics and make up and their descriptions were all in that NAME that Adam called them right.
Ok so we can bring this closer to home in this present day. So if I 'SEE' a dog, I would obviously say it is a dog because it has the general features and characteristics that make up a dog. Or likewise if I see something in the sky that flies (and is not man-made like an airplane or drone or helicopter etc) I would immediately say or think ' BIRD' right, cos BIRDS fly (that's there character and nature!). But you get the picture I'm sure.
But you probably are thinking in a little box that Adam just named the living creatures so what does that have to do with me having authority to 'NAME'. Well simple everywhere in scripture we see that in one way or another people called a person or place or something by certain NAMES. They NAMED these things! Hey, Adam also named his wife 'EVE'. He called her NAME EVE because she was the 'Mother of ALL living!" (Genesis 3:20). Then we read of others in the Bible who called a place a certain NAME because of what it meant to them or what happened at that place etc. Lets take Jacob for example. After he had his wrestling match with the angel in Genesis 32: 34-29, Jacob called the NAME of the place where he had wrestled Peniel! (Genesis 32:30), and why did he do this - because he said ' I have seen God face to face and my life has been preserved!" (Genesis 32:30).
If you want more proof just read an old testament book which sets out a 'genealogy' of someone and you realize whoever 'beget' someone ALWAYS had a 'NAME' mentioned in that genealogy. Or there were 'NAMES' given to certain 'FEASTS' that were celebrated by the Israelites or there were NAMES given to certain places. The scriptures are pouring with examples of people 'NAMING' people/places/things! Which can ONLY lead us to believe that this is an inherent part of who we are as ' human beings' but more so as 'children of God who have been created in his image and likeness!
So lets break it down a little shall we. What does ALL this mean and why is it important to know this? The answer is simply summed up in this: "YOUR DESTINY IS IN 'YOUR NAME!" 'WHO YOU ARE IS IN 'YOUR NAME'!" The 'NAME' carries EVERYTHING and EVERY PART of who and what you are in this life! The NAME carries the 'DNA makeup' of the person/place/thing; it entails the CHARACTERISTICS of the person/place/thing; it even encompasses the FEATURES and the LIFE that is attached to a person/place/thing. The NAME unfolds YOUR DESTINY! 'YOUR NAME DEFINES YOU IN YOUR ENTIRETY and BRINGS FORTH YOUR IDENTITY INTO THE WORLD AROUND YOU!!"
So what exactly do I mean by 'the NAME'? Well simple search in a dictionary will tell us that the word 'name' refers to a word or a set of words by which a person, animal, place or thing is known, addressed, or referred to (as a noun); then it could also be used as a 'title' usually of famous people; and when used as a 'verb' it can simply be the 'act' of giving a name to something/someone/place, etc. I am sure there are other more specific meanings to this word 'NAME' but for now lets just stick to what it generally means.
Now in Hebrew when Adam called the living creatures their 'NAME'; when he NAMED his wife EVE etc, this means:
"shem" - which amongst other things means a 'name or title'; a 'mark or memorial' of 'individuality'; or by implication it can mean 'honor, 'authority', 'character' etc (Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible).
So from the get-go from the BEGINNING, we realize that a 'NAME' gives MEANING to a person/place/thing! It literally DEFINES us! It encompasses our own 'mark' so to speak or our 'individuality' and entails within it CHARACTER, HONOR and AUTHORITY!!! Just stop and think on that for a while! THERE is SO MUCH TO YOU then WHAT YOU SEE!!!
NO WONDER this is an inherent part of our make-up as Human Beings and more importantly as children of the Most High God! Why? Because WE ARE TO FLESH OUT THE 'KINGDOM' OF YAHWEH ON THE EARTH AND WHEREVER WE GO BECAUSE IT IS ALREADY INSIDE OF US AND IN OUR MAKE-UP WITHIN OUR 'NAME!!!"
This brings me full circle back to the start, that WE NAME a person (for us parents, we name our babies when they are born); we name places; we name things; even situations right! We can give a NAME to pretty much anything we come across, anything we face, anything in the world, anything in life, any person at any time in any place! But here's the thing - "WHATEVER YOU NAME WILL BRING FORTH THE DESTINY OF AND DEFINE THE VERY THING THE NAME IS ATTACHED TO!" But because this inherent part of us has been bestowed upon us with and by the Authority of Yahweh, we too have that authority to allow 'destiny ' and 'character' etc to be fleshed out through the NAME.
So what does all this mean you ask? Well a couple of things really that you can take away from this reading:
That when you NAME a person/place/thing, YOU are doing so in authority and under authority that has been vested within us by God himself and , just like he did Adam when He gave that right to Adam to name all living creatures; just like when Adam named the living creatures; and when Adam named his wife Eve; just like when Jacob called the name of the place Peniel; and when God himself changed Abram's name to Abraham (Genesis 17:5) or Sarai changed to Sarah (Genesis 17:15); or in the New Testament for example, when Jesus called Simon by the NAME CEPHAS (Peter) in John 1:42; etc. These biblical instances merely show us what we have VESTED in us from the get-go. That we have an inherent make-up to NAME. And that this comes because God himself gave this right to us as mankind (through Adam).
That Your NAME defines and gives YOU meaning! It entails your character, your make-up, your DESTINY!
You ACTIVATE or FLESH OUT into the tangible manifestation your whole DESTINY THROUGH your NAME when you do so IN, Under and THROUGH the AUTHORITY that Has been placed within you by Yahweh! Which means when you SPEAK your NAME or when it is being spoken YOUR DESTINY and WHO YOU ARE IS LITERALLY MANIFESTING/COMING FORTH INTO BEING/EXISTENCE!!
Whatever or whoever YOU GIVE A NAME TO, you play a part in fleshing out the Destiny of that person/situation/thing/place etc!
Having said all this, now is it boils down to this simple truth: Just like your NAME can carry a DESTINY of Yahweh within it, a NAME can also CARRY a DESTINY of destruction and death within it. Basically the NAME can either be 'LIFE' or 'DEATH' - which makes sense because when a NAME is spoken it can either BRING FORTH LIFE or IT CAN BRING FORTH DEATH (there is so much more to say on this but perhaps for a different blog) because of the AUTHORITY we have vested in us to NAME!
So I guess right now some of you guys might be googling to see what your name means and saying oh wow my name has negative meaning to it etc etc. Well let me tell you this - Put away your google devices and STOP trying to find out what your name means using your logical reasoning. For real! GO TO GOD! He will show you YOUR NAME and the MEANING of YOUR NAME! AND it may be totally different to the physical name you have now it may not! It may be that he will show you YOU NEED A NAME CHANGE like Abram and Sara or it may be that HE is CALLING YOU by a NEW NAME like 'Simon son of Jona - Cephas/Peter! Whatever it is guys, I encourage you - GO TO THE TRUE SOURCE - YAHWEH! He will show you YOUR NAME! He will show you HOW OR WHAT TO NAME a person/place/thing/situation etc; He will SHOW you WHAT IS IN THE NAME and what THE NAME MEANS OR ENTAILS - ITS DESTINY! He will pretty much SHOW you what you NEED TO KNOW! THEN, once you get this, YOU FLESH THIS OUT into the tangible by the awareness of the authority you have to do so that is inherent within you!
So be encouraged, for those seemingly impossible situations or circumstances, go to God, get a name and NAME those circumstances and literally watch them ALIGN with the DESTINY IN THE NAME and FLESH OUT INTO MANIFESTATION.
KNOW YOUR NAME! YOU WON'T BE MOVED WHEN YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE!!!!
The Lord wants His people to know this one thing:
"THAT THEIR DESTINY IS IN THEIR NAME!!"
BE Blessed today.
Eunice.
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