People
put a lot of thought into naming their children...at least most of us do. You
will always find those odd names that seem to have you asking; "WHAT IN THE WORLD WERE THEIR PARENTS
THINKING?
For instance, who names a son, Wrigley Fields or a daughter given the name of Charman Toilette...or what about the young girl named Rainbow, daughter of
Brook and Steel Traut. Yes, for most of us, there is a lot to be said for the
name we choose for our children and the meaning that is inherent in that name.
And in that vein of thought, God treats naming His children the same way...He
looks to capture in their name who they are or who they can become.
Take
one of my favorite Bible characters, Gideon, son of Joash from the Abiezrite
tribe of the clan of Manasseh. His name means Hewer or Mighty Warrior. But,
when the angel of the Lord found Gideon, he was in hiding from the Midianites,
while threshing wheat in the wine vat that belonged to his father. The angel
addressed Gideon by calling out,
"THE LORD IS WITH YOU, MIGHTY WARRIOR!"
If
you read Judges 6: 11-24, you will see that this greeting caught Gideon
completely off guard and his basic response was to question this messenger
about why God had abandoned the Israelites?
The answer was quick and to the point as the Angel of the Lord turned to
him and said: " Go in the strength you have and deliver Israel from the power of
Midian. Am I not sending YOU?"(my emphasis) And the answer that
followed was typical of us all as Gideon began to explain to the Lord's
messenger why he was not the right man for the job...but God knew otherwise!
You
see, God had already sewn into the fabric of his name, Gideon, and had
addressed him in His greeting (Mighty Warrior) of who Gideon was and who he was
to become as he committed himself to the task at hand....he simply needed to do
one thing; trust that the angel spoke the truth when He said, "But, I will be with you and YOU will
strike Midian down as if it were ONE man." (capitalized my emphasis)
Yes,
God knew that He had properly named this child to be a mighty warrior and that
the only thing holding him back from living up to his name was his own
deep-seeded fear...so Gideon ask for a sign...an assurance that this was not
all just a figment of his imagination.
And
as always, God stands ready to prove himself to us so that we can move forward,
with our fear in check and the power of the Lord at our disposal. So Gideon
prepared a meal for the messenger and then did as the Angel of the Lord told
him to...he set the meal on a rock, poured the broth over the meat and unleavened
bread and then stepped back to watch. And that's when the fireworks began!
The
Angel of the Lord touched the meal that Gideon had prepared for him, using just
the tip of his staff; and instantaneously, fire from the rock engulfed and
consumed the meal...and in the same instant, the Angel of the Lord vanished
from sight. Poor Gideon thought this would be the end of him since he had seen
the Angel of the Lord face to face...BUT GOD (one of my favorite biblical
terms) said to him, "Peace to you. DON'T BE AFRAID, for you will not die."
So
what can we ascertain from our brother, Gideon?
We can come to know that there truly can be a heavenly connection in our
name and who we are..or who God wants us to become.. we just have to be ready
to step out when the hand of God moves in our lives...ready to go where God
will lead and cast off the heavy weight of fear, pain, anxiety or any other
malady that holds us back from becoming what God wants us to be. We are
shackled only when we try to move forward in our own strength without the
undergirding power of our Savior and the swift sure power of His Holy
Spirit....so go ahead and make today a day to live out who your name says you
are....my name is Patrick, which means, nobleman. My prayer today is that I
might be a noble man for my Lord...what's yours????
Striving
to live up to my name....giving God the Glory,
WPQ
Poem for the
day...
Sometimes I stop
and wonder
What's in a
name?
Does our name
truly define us
Or are we really
all the same?
There's Bill and
Bob
And Ann and
Sue...
And what's the
name that
Says one is
"True"?
But this I know
from what I've read
That in our name
God has said...
If you go where
I will lead
I will provide
all you will need.
To make this
world a better place
And fill it up
with my love and grace...
The world will
know you are not the same
If you lean on
me and live up to your name!!!
WPQ© January
2020
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