Who Says?

 A couple weeks ago we took our kids to the trampoline park...or as we affectionately call it, jumpy town.  They had a blast of course, even though it was busier than normal and kids everywhere weren’t just bouncing off the trampolines, but off of each other.  Brandon and I just stood there staring out across this sea of injuries waiting to happen and tried to keep a line of sight on our kids, praying that none of them would pee in the foam pit.  Thankfully it was a pretty uneventful trip for us...just wild enough to wear them out and allow us a little time to put our feet up when we got home.  Later that evening I took our four year old, Benaiah, to the grocery store with me and he was chatting in the backseat about everything and nothing when all the sudden he said...”Oh I’m so annoying”.  I was so surprised to hear him say that and right away told him it’s not true and that he couldn’t say that.  He responded with...”But that big boy at jumpy town told me I am.”  I took a few minutes to talk to him and tell him what a great kid he is, how much he is loved, that he isn’t annoying.  I don’t know that he really even knows what it means when someone says that, but I wanted to immediately counter the negative words with truth.

I hate name calling. Hate it. It’s not allowed in our home...not that it never happens, but we do our best to put a stop to it the second we hear it. Lots of us go by so many names in our lives. Obviously the names our parents give us, the names others give us, the names we give ourselves...but most importantly what is the name God has given us? When we named our first baby Bezalel we knew that we were outside the box...which we were fine with. What we didn’t know was how many people would feel they had the right to give their opinion of it. One lady even went as far as posting on my Facebook that he would probably get made fun of at school because of it. Jokes on her...we homeschool. I guess when you have your babies at home and use the Old Testament as inspiration for all of their names that’s just a natural progression...but I digress. What they didn’t know was the reason we used that name. Bezalel in the Bible was a master craftsman, chosen and anointed by God to do things that nobody else at the time could do. He was picked out of a group of millions of people to do the most important work God had at that time. And most importantly, he was the first person in the Bible who was mentioned as being filled with the Spirit of God. We believe that about our Bezalel...our Bez...that he is chosen, anointed, picked out of millions to do a work that only he can do, and that he is filled with the Spirit of God. The same is true for our other children Benaiah, Jubilee, and Galilee. Their names were chosen after a lot of prayer and each holds a special meaning for them and for us. Obviously we are most known in our lives by these names, the ones given to us at birth.

Far too often though, we identify ourselves with names that others give us. The ones that are spoken carelessly and probably even forgotten by the speaker, but impossible for us to forget. Annoying, stupid, ugly. Not interesting, not talented, not wanted. These names that so easily stick with us and define us. It reminds me of David in the Bible. The priest at the time, Samuel, was sent by God to the home of David’s father to anoint the new king. After going down the line of Jesse’s sons, Samuel asked...isn’t there anyone else? Jesse basically responded with...well technically, but he’s a runt. Samuel had David called in and anointed him as king. No matter the name his father gave him, David’s Heavenly Father knew the truth. He knew that David could lead the people, He knew that His own Son would descend from David’s line and save us all.

I used to have a bad habit of giving myself “names”. I wasn’t a particularly confident person and had a fear of being made fun of, not being liked. What I was good at though was making people laugh. And I figured if I said something about myself and laughed with people, it hurt a lot less than if they said something themselves and laughed without me. After years of doing this, I fully believed the things I said about myself. That I wasn’t good at this or that, that I didn’t measure up to the people around me, that I was incapable of succeeding. Look at Moses in the Old Testament. I can identify with Moses. Not the parting of the Red Sea part or the leading millions of people out of captivity part...but the feeling inadequate part. God called Moses to go back to Egypt and lead His people out of Egypt, but Moses was scared. He thought he was inadequate. He believed others were more qualified, more capable, had the leadership qualities God was really looking for. He literally stood in front of a talking, burning bush and gave God all the reasons he couldn’t do what He was asking him to do. But no matter what “names” Moses gave himself, no matter how many times he told himself he wasn’t good enough, wasn’t qualified, God knew the truth. He knew the importance and the magnitude of what Moses had been called to do. See, it really doesn’t matter what others call us. It doesn’t matter what we call ourselves.

What matters is the name that God gives us.

What matters is what He calls us. Believing the lie that someone spoke over us, believing the lies we’ve spoken over ourselves is not what He has for us. Taking on the identity that we were never meant to have is not who God created us to be. You are who He says you are and nothing less. You answer to what He calls you, not to what someone else says. He has created YOU for a purpose, He has called YOU by name. And what He calls you is precious, set apart, chosen. And these are the names you need to answer to.

When grocery shopping was done and the kids were tucked in that night, I told Brandon what Benaiah had told me. His papa bear side kicked in immediately and he went right in to lay down next to Benaiah, telling him what a great kid he is, that he’s wonderful, awesome, and not even a little annoying. Bez chimed in and said...”Don’t worry, that kid called me annoying too, but Niah I think you’re cool.” And that‘s what our Heavenly Father does for us. He comes right alongside us, throws out the lies that have been spoken over us, and tells us the truth.

You are who He says you are.