In American culture, people are given names for many reasons. If we are named after our parents or grandparents, or other people that were significant in our parents’ lives, our names may have meaning, but more often than not, our names have little significance, except that our parents liked the sound of it. In Bible times, however, people were often given names to describe their character. For instance, Abram, whose name meant “Exhalted father” (though he had no children at the time), was given a new name, Abraham, meaning “Father of many” after God promised to make him the father of a great nation. His son was named “Isaac,” which means, “he laughs,” because, as Sarah (his mother) said, “God has brought me laughter! All who hear abou this will laugh with me.” Gen 21:6.
Isaac had two sons, Esau, “hairy,” and Jacob, “deceiver.” Can you imagine what it must have been like to be in school in that culture? “okay, class, take your seats. Hairy, please sit down. Deceiver, did you finish your homework? Trouble, please erase the chalkboard. Smiley, please hand out the assignments…” I guess my name isn’t so bad after all!
But Jacob didn’t have to keep such a name for long. After a night wrestling with the Lord, he was given a new name, “Israel,” or, “One who struggles with God.” How fitting that he goes on to head a nation that continued to struggle with God throughout history. And now, for those of us who consider ourselves to be part of spiritual Israel, (see Galatians 3:29), we continue to struggle with God in our daily lives.
It seems that throughout the scriptures, whenever someone encountered a life-changing experience with God, he would change their name. Perhaps this is why he promises in Revelation 2:17, “…And I will give to each one a white stone, and on the stone will be engraved a new name that no one knows except the one who receives it.” (NLT). I used to think that this meant that God knows something about my character that he wants everyone to know, so he changes my name. I would often wonder what it might be. That is a difficult question: what does God see in me that he would want to name me for? As I have pondered this question, a new idea crossed my mind.
I have read a lot about how bad it is to label our kids (or anyone else for that matter). Kids that grow up being told that they are “losers” or that they will “never amount to anything,” or that they are “stupid” or “fat” or “lazy” end up living up to the labels. They call this a self-fulfilling prophecy. If the kids hear it enough, they start believing it, and then they start acting like they believe they are actually the label. But, this also works the other way around. If we remind them how smart, or successful, or brave, or handsome, or beautiful, or thoughtful, etc, they begin to believe it, if they hear it enough.
So, now I wonder if God is choosing a name for me that will be more of a label of what He knows I can be. Coming from a fallen world, I worry that I won’t be fit for heaven. Maybe God will give me a name like “trusting,” knowing that I don’t have enough trust. Then, I may say to myself, “Wow. If God thinks I am trusting, maybe I am. Then I will start to act more trusting, because I think that God already sees me this way, and I won’t want to let him down. Then, I may actually find that I am trusting, as I exercise my new “trust” muscle.
As I thought about this more, I thought of ways that maybe I could use this new idea. Maybe I will start to call my children by more positive labels. When my daughter challenges me, I can say, “Wow. You are becoming such an independent woman.” When my patients or my coworkers bring me a complaint, I can say, “Thank you for helping me to fix this problem,” instead of shaking my head at their complaints. Maybe I can start looking specifically for people’s positive contributions and will see how caring, or thoughtful, or proactive they are, and treat them that way.
Maybe then God will have to think of a new name for me…..
Saturday, January 26, 2008
Tuesday, January 8, 2008
The Brook Besor
Right now for my devotional time, I am reading, “Facing your Giants,” by Max Lucado. It is essentially a study of life-lessons from the story of King David. David is one of my favorite Bible heroes. His story gives me strength and courage, and an overwhelming sense of God’s love for me in spite of my failures.
Chapter 9 of Max’s book, entitled, “Plopping Points,” describes an encounter that I have somehow overlooked, in the dozen or more studies that I have done on the life of David.
As the story goes, David and his men had just returned from battle, only to find that their village had been destroyed, and their families had been taken captive by the enemy army. The men were devastated, worn out, and angry. They set off to rescue their families and recapture their belongings.
In their pursuit of the enemy band, David and his army came to a brook, called Besor. They rested a while, got some water, and then David gave the command to get back on the trail, but 200 of the soldiers decided to stay and rest. They could go no further. The army moved on and left them behind.
Max asks, “How tired does a person have to be to abandon the hunt for his own family?”
He goes on, “The church has its quorum of such folks. Good people. Godly people. Only hours or years ago they marched with deep resolve. But now fatigue consumes them. They’re exhausted. So beat-up and worn down that they can’t summon the strength to save their own flesh and blood. Old age has sucked their oxygen. Or maybe it was a deflating string of defeat. Divorce can leave you at the brook. Addiction can as well. Whatever the reason, the church has its share of people who just sit and rest.”
I remember the last time I was at Brook Besor. I can still taste the water. I was overwhelmed by Satan’s attacks on every area of my life. I couldn’t fight anymore. I was at the end of my rope, even considering throwing in the towel and ending my life. I remember yelling at God, “You promised me that you would never give me more than I can handle, but you did! I can’t take it! I can’t go on like this! If you want me to keep going, you are going to have to do something about it, because I can’t fight anymore!”
And do you know what happened? While I was waiting at the brook, too tired to fight, God did what David and his men did in this story: He fought the battle for me! Within weeks, things had changed. Through no effort of my own, some of the problems simply worked themselves out. Others became more manageable, and I was able to gain perspective on how to better handle each situation. Within months, I was back on my feet, and life was good once again.
Just as David and his army continued on their battle, rescuing their families and recapturing their belongings (and making sure that those resting at the brook got their share, even when the rest of the army wanted to exclude them), Jesus fights our battles, and wins the victory for us!
So, when you are battle-weary, come to the Brook Besor and rest a while. Let Jesus fight for you!
Chapter 9 of Max’s book, entitled, “Plopping Points,” describes an encounter that I have somehow overlooked, in the dozen or more studies that I have done on the life of David.
As the story goes, David and his men had just returned from battle, only to find that their village had been destroyed, and their families had been taken captive by the enemy army. The men were devastated, worn out, and angry. They set off to rescue their families and recapture their belongings.
In their pursuit of the enemy band, David and his army came to a brook, called Besor. They rested a while, got some water, and then David gave the command to get back on the trail, but 200 of the soldiers decided to stay and rest. They could go no further. The army moved on and left them behind.
Max asks, “How tired does a person have to be to abandon the hunt for his own family?”
He goes on, “The church has its quorum of such folks. Good people. Godly people. Only hours or years ago they marched with deep resolve. But now fatigue consumes them. They’re exhausted. So beat-up and worn down that they can’t summon the strength to save their own flesh and blood. Old age has sucked their oxygen. Or maybe it was a deflating string of defeat. Divorce can leave you at the brook. Addiction can as well. Whatever the reason, the church has its share of people who just sit and rest.”
I remember the last time I was at Brook Besor. I can still taste the water. I was overwhelmed by Satan’s attacks on every area of my life. I couldn’t fight anymore. I was at the end of my rope, even considering throwing in the towel and ending my life. I remember yelling at God, “You promised me that you would never give me more than I can handle, but you did! I can’t take it! I can’t go on like this! If you want me to keep going, you are going to have to do something about it, because I can’t fight anymore!”
And do you know what happened? While I was waiting at the brook, too tired to fight, God did what David and his men did in this story: He fought the battle for me! Within weeks, things had changed. Through no effort of my own, some of the problems simply worked themselves out. Others became more manageable, and I was able to gain perspective on how to better handle each situation. Within months, I was back on my feet, and life was good once again.
Just as David and his army continued on their battle, rescuing their families and recapturing their belongings (and making sure that those resting at the brook got their share, even when the rest of the army wanted to exclude them), Jesus fights our battles, and wins the victory for us!
So, when you are battle-weary, come to the Brook Besor and rest a while. Let Jesus fight for you!
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