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THE POWER OF A NAME

 

Dear Reader:

Would you allow me to introduce you to my friend Jesus? Perhaps you have already met another mutual friend, the famous, or some would say notorious, Jabez. Millions have met Jabez as a man of prayer, but before he ever prayed, he hurt.

Pain did not stop Jabez from prayer—it moved him to cry out to God! Jabez found the great secret of transforming suffering into rejoicing, of changing defeat into victory. In our walk with Jabez, Jesus will join us. I cannot tell you at what point you will note his presence because he often whispers.

Now Jabez was more honorable than his brothers, and his mother called his name Jabez, saying, "Because I bore him in pain," (I Chronicles 4:9).

Have you ever considered how profoundly names shape us? When we say "Guts" or "Pride" or "Spite" is someone’s "middle name," we mean their core, their pith is defined by that name. With Jabez, pain was his first name, his ever-constant companion. More than simply "pain," his mother actually named him "he will cause pain." This name had a power over his life.

In the Bible names often epitomize a person’s life. Consider Jacob. His parents gave him the name "Deceiver." Sure enough, that was the story of his life. Yet his life was also a struggle to obtain the promised blessings of God. As a reward, God renamed Jacob "Israel," "He who wrestles with God." Another example is "Yeshua," a Hebrew name meaning, "Yahweh (God) saves." In English Yeshua is "Jesus."

In all human societies, names bring self-identity, family identity and social identity. The more particular the name and the more specific its meaning, the more deeply that name shapes identity, sense of self. That is why nicknames or reputations can bless or wound. Have you known kids with labels such as "stinky," "brains" or "pimples"? How did those names change them?