Sticks and Stones Will Break my Bones…

…but words will never hurt me.

What an incredible lie. 

The reality is that physical weapons cause wounds that will eventually heal – even if they leave us with scars, or another physical reminder.  But words and names can cause open, gaping, festering wounds that may never heal.  They can cause wounds that we carry with us forever – unless we let the Lord heal them.

The Word says that we overcome by the power of the blood and the word of our testimony.

(Revelation 12:11)

We all have names that we go by, and most of us had nothing to do with the choosing of them.  Many of us have several names.  We have the name or names our parents gave us, and maybe a nickname or two.  Some of us answer to Mama or Daddy, Coach, Teacher, or all kinds of things in between.  And then there are the names that we DON’T want to answer to – the false names:  Rejected, Unloved, Damaged, Trash, Ashamed, Alone, Abandoned – the list is endless.  The world, in its fleshliness, defines us by our mistakes and our flaws.  But that is NOT how God says we are defined.

See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is.

– 1 John 3:1-2

A few weeks ago, I was listening to a podcast (Back Porch Theology with Lisa Harper – if y’all aren’t listening, you are missing out!) where one of the hosts, Allison Allen, talked about an activity she does at speaking events.  She calls it The Great Name Exchange, and basically, she instructs the audience (usually mostly women) to write down on a name tag one of the false, secret names, that you call yourself.  An untrue name you have been given by the world.  A name that you secretly feel defines you.  A name that you struggle to carry.  Maybe it was from a parent, a teacher or other adult, a friend, the mean girls at school, or just an acquaintance.

The audience members write down their name.  Unworthy.  Stupid.  Rejected.  Wounded.  Unloved.  Any name that you have that is heavy or burdensome.  They bring the names to the front and leave them at the altar.  Then they choose one of the names that the Creator of Heaven and Earth has given them – a Biblical name – from the name tags that are scattered across the stage.  Beloved.  Daughter.  Forgiven.  Free.  Accepted.  Chosen.  Valuable.

He gives us new names (Revelation 2:17)

Names in the Bible are important things.  While I was listening to Allison describe the name exchange, she talked about how Jacob in Genesis 32 spits out his old name – Jacob (which means ‘he grasps the heel’ – a Hebrew idiom for ‘deceiver.’)– and takes on the new name, ISRAEL.  But my immediate thought went to God changing the names of Sarah and Abraham (formerly Sarai and Abram) by adding an H, or in Hebrew a Hei, because He had breathed new life into them.  (Genesis 17:5,15  You can go here, and read that blog post if you missed it.)

Recently I’ve had the privilege of being able to get away on a little sabbatical of sorts.  It was a nice, quiet, place where I could be alone with my thoughts and my Abba Father.  I decided to do my own version of this activity.  I wrote down all the names that the enemy uses or has used to taunt me.  Maybe yours are similar to mine.  And then I wrote down some the names God calls me – and y’all, there are SO MANY.

I tore apart the false names, and as I sat by the firepit, I gave each one of them to God as I tossed them in the flames.  Then I took the new names — the names that GOD SAYS DEFINE ME – and I thanked Him for them and tucked them into my Bible.  They will be reminders.

Allison wrapped up by saying, “What false name are you holding on to?  Is there something that I call myself secretly?  Or that I say of myself when I feel like I blow it?  Or I look in the mirror and I don’t like what I see?  What do I name myself that doesn’t line up with Your nature, Your ways, Your character and Your Word, Lord?  And then ASK GOD to LEAD YOU to places in His Word that will COMBAT those LIES.”

God says things about me that the world doesn’t say.  The difference is, He knows – He created me.  I am choosing to stop answering to the names the world calls me.

The Word says that, because Jesus is my Savior, MY NAME is written in the Lamb’s Book of Life.  I love knowing that truth.  And when I get to heaven, I want to LOOK at my name in that book and run my finger across it.

The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. – John 10:3 NIV