What is in a name?

Have you ever thought about the spiritual meaning of your name? Many people do not realise that their name has a deep intrinsic value, because they think that it was randomly chosen for them by their parents. Traditionally, giving a family name to a newborn baby is what most parents would opt for. If not, parents of a soon-to-be-birthed little baby would typically work through a book of names, sifting and sorting until a shortlist is compiled that satisfies both, and gradually names would be eliminated until only one or two remain. Sometimes parents would just think of the name of somebody they liked and admired and choose to name their baby after that person.

There are parents who prayerfully ask the Lord what He would like them to name their child, and this is of course the best course of action. But the most wonderful thing about your name is that no matter how ‘randomly’ it was chosen by your parents, it is still in God’s will that you received that name!

How God uses names for His own purposes is illustrated so well by the story of Zechariah and Elizabeth quoted above. He was a priest performing priestly services in the temple in Jerusalem, married to Elizabeth, but the couple remained childless until an angel appeared to him and told him that Elizabeth would give birth to a child in her old age. Zechariah’s Hebrew name was Zicharyah, meaning God has remembered, and Elizabeth was called Elisheva, meaning the oath of God. Their union in marriage spelled out a prophetic message to all who had eyes to see: God has remembered the oath of God.

This was a clear sign to Israel that God had not forgotten His oath to Abraham, because the baby Elizabeth gave birth to was named Yochanan, who was later to become known as John the Baptist – and his name means the grace of God – the grace of salvation through Jesus Christ, about Whom John had to testify all throughout his life.

Three names, no matter how they were decided upon, spelling out God’s intention to keep His eternal promises, at the exact time that those promises were being fulfilled – all orchestrated by God. Never doubt that your name is meant to be uniquely yours!

Pearls to ponder:

When people had to change their identity and direction in life, God often changed their names to reflect this. Abram became Abraham, Jacob became Israel. Our names often reflect the spiritual journey we are on. Find out what the Christian meaning of your name is and pray the godly promises contained therein over your life! Let God’s promises override the names we tend to give ourselves – names like lonely, forgotten, wounded. Replace them with: I am God’s child, He holds me in the palm of His hand, He is my Healer!