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Names Have Been Changed to Declare the Righteous
by Abby Kelly "I love everything about her life!" The barista's comment startled me as I left Starbucks. I knew she was talking about me. We had just been giggling together, discussing our dogs and exchanging first names. I almost turned around said, "No you don't! You don't know anything about my life!" But instead, I just smiled to myself and walked into the sunshine. I think I know what she loves about my life, it's what she can see. I pray she can see that God has blessed me with joy and a peace beyond understanding. It hasn't always been this way. I used to spot a girl across the room and wish to trade her places. I used to pray each night that God would just kill me because I didn't want to do my life anymore. In the midst of a 15 year battle with anorexia and a troubled marriage, it seemed as if my life couldn't get any worse. I even feared that my loved ones had given up on me after pouring thousands of dollars into my treatment, only to still see a starving, depressed woman. Looking into my heart, I hated what I saw. I perceived my identity as intrinsically linked to my long list of failures. Maybe Jacob did, too. The Biblical character of Genesis lived up to his given name, "Deceiver". In fact, when God asked him in chapter 32, "What is your name?" Jacob was forced to reply, "I am Deceiver." At that point in Jacob's life, he believed the end was near. In mere hours, he would be face-to-face with a man who once wanted to kill him. Already, Jacob had a long list of mistakes to feel guilty for. I wonder if Jacob hated who he had become. But God is in the business of changing identities. Over and over throughout the Bible, when God did a massive work in someone's life, He also changed their name, giving them a new identity, a new way to refer to themselves, a new way to see themselves and a new way to present themselves to the world. For Jacob, God told him, "Your name will no longer be Jacob. You have wrestled with God and with men, and you have won. That's why your name will be Israel." Another definition of the name Israel is, "Prince of God". According to 2 Corinthians 5:17, our identity changes too, when we accept Jesus as our salvation. "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!" Isaiah 62 tells us that God changes our name to reflect the new identity that we receive when we accept the sacrifice of Jesus for us and the gift of His righteousness to us. "The nations shall see your righteousness, and all the kings your glory, and you shall be called by a new name that the mouth of the LORD will give. You shall be a crown of beauty in the hand of the LORD, and a royal diadem in the hand of your God. You shall no more be termed Forsaken, and your land shall no more be termed Desolate, but you shall be called My Delight Is in Her, and your land Married; for the LORD delights in you, and your land shall be married." As I sank into a chair on the patio at Starbucks, the sun's afternoon rays painted my feet a soft yellow, then shadows encroached and swept me into the early evening hours. I smiled again. I love who I am. I love the one who gave me His identity in Christ, and I dearly love the name, Jesus. Learn more about me on my website: http://predatory-lies.com/about-me/ Please find my book on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Surviving-Predatory-Lies-Anorexia-Kelly-ebook/dp/B00HFGMBJA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1389645006&sr=8-1&keywords=predatory+lies Article Source: http://www.faithwriters.com |