If you are ever with me when I am in a check out line or first meeting someone and seeing or hearing their name for the first time then you will likely hear me say, "the meaning of your name is..." or ask, "what is the meaning of your name?"
Half the time these people think I am C.R.AAA.ZY! (Okay maybe more than half the time)
All the time I use this little interaction as an opportunity to pray for that individual; to pray that they will be who God ordained them to be. This sometimes means praying that the person will overcome the meaning of their name and live in victory.
The thing is meanings of names...well they get me oddly excited!
Or maybe I'm not so odd (okay, who are we kidding... I'm totally weird)... maybe I get excited because I am made in God's image... in the image of magnificent God who is IN THE DETAILS, and who ordained the names and lives of His people for His glory.
Want chills too?
Right from the get-go in Genesis the God of the universe was intentional to tell mankind His plan for SALVATION through the lineage of Adam through the meanings of their names!!
Right from the get-go in Genesis the God of the universe was intentional to tell mankind His plan for SALVATION through the lineage of Adam through the meanings of their names!!
*CHILLS*
*************************************************************
A couple of years ago God tenderly spoke to me the meaning of my maiden name, Teodosio.
He generously replaced tired lies with truth. Since then I daily (yes, daily) hear the Spirit speak and nudge me to believe that I am who He has written me to be, "Denise, you are a God-Giver." I want to be. I want to be.
What's your name?
Today, I want to pray for you to be who God has written you to be for His glory.
8 comments:
As someone who is a survivor of abuse, I didn't always like that my name meant "pure one." I felt it was a terrible, ironic meaning for someone who couldn't feel clean or worthy.
But now I know why that name was given to me. It's because I am made pure through Christ alone. Not because of my experiences or circumstances but because of what He did.
That is the coolest thing ever.
love the meaning of names too :). my name means "gracious one", Charis (our 11 year old) is the Greek word for grace, and Hannah (youngest) means God is gracious.
Totally on your same page with names!!! We feel as though god chose our kids names and MAN are they right on in their person and character. Have you read John eldredge 's book waking the dead (or was it captivating??) where he talks about gods little habit of renaming people? It is so powerful. I feel he's given me a new name and it is a secret between he and I. I always thought it was a name I was to name one of my daughters. And when my my son turned out to be not a daughter, He showed me why that name was rooted in my heart. It was mine. :) love ya.
I love this! The way God uses our names to speak to us has always been amazing to me. Whenever I have a dream with someone I know in it I immediately look up their name because I know God gave me that dream with that persons name in it for a reason, he has something to say to me through it!
With that in mind we very intentionally, prayerfully choose our kids names, and have been praying their meanings ever since.
My name either means Ireland (that's the boring meaning); or peace, peace-maker, or bringer of peace.
The irony has not been lost on me, since I tend to be one of the noisiest people in the room. :P
This is a challenge to me. It made me think of the names we gave our kids, which we chose for many reasons, including their meanings. As they get older sometimes I forget those meanings, and their names just become a way to call them-- often with exasperation in my voice. When I think of their meanings, though, it reminds me of my dreams for them, and of the way it was when we welcomed them to our family. And that is something completely different than my annoyance at finding yet another sock on the floor.
This is RAD. My fiance's name is Seth and he gets asked ALL the time what his name means!!
Thanks for the challenge. I never thought about it until now.:)
Post a Comment