Do You Need a Name Change?

You can't deny the importance of a name. When people find out that a woman is pregnant, she gets asked if she's having a boy or girl. The very next question is what's his or her name? Name choice is a pretty major decision.

Why is that? What's in a name?

• When your name is spoken, something is being declared over you. Every time your name is called, the meaning of your name or your identity identity is being awakened.
• Your name is what you respond to. As your name is called, you rise to meet or line up with what your name says about. 

I once was closely connected with a church in Garner, NC that took names so seriously they actually changed their names as they began to grow in their relationships with the Lord. When I first met them, I had no idea about the practice of name changing in their church. I just assumed they all had really powerful Bible names like, "Esther, Emmanuel, Daniel, Sovereign, and many others. I went to spend some extended time with them and one of the first things they asked me during my visit was what does your name mean?  I told them Nicole means Victory or Victory of the People. They almost couldn't call me Nicole. I became Victory to them and I must say that their practice of calling me Victory changed something in me as I heard it. I responded differently.

As our world is experiencing so much unrest and uncertainty, I have been focusing on what it means to have personal reset. Part of resetting yourself is to respond differently. One thing God has been speaking is that people are often responding to names He did not call them. These are some of the names people respond to that God did not call us:

• procrastinator
• fearful
• bitter
• broken
• uncertain 
• insignificant
• not enough
• not good enough
• unworthy

People get so mad when people call them outside their names and they need to have that same energy and discomfort when they call themselves names like the ones above that are contrary to what God calls them.  What names are you responding to?

God took me back to the story of Abraham in Genesis 17. God said Abram, "Whats more, I am changing your name. It will no longer be Abram. Instead, you will be called Abraham, for you will be the father of many nations. I will make you extremely fruitful." NAME CHANGE! God changed Abram's name to Abraham to reflect the promise over his life.  Sarai's, Abram's wife's, name was changed to Sarah. The meaning of her name went from princess to princess of many people. Again, God named her for the promise and where she was headed.

What God calls you is important. He calls you based on who He knows you are and where He is sending you. In this time of #reset2020, make it your goal to respond in life from a revelation of the promises over your life and where God is taking you. To do that you must:

• Know the false names you are responding to (ask God to show you)
• Ask God the name (s) He has for you in this season and to help you grab hold of them, own them and respond accordingly

Today, one of my dear friends shared with me that God's name for her is "favored one". So, no matter what she faces, she can confidently respond as a favored daughter of God because He has spoken this over her spirit and she grabbed hold of it.
What name(s) are you responding to?

Nicole

P.S. Ladies, join me over in my private FB group, Originally RED, where we are having daily conversations about a #reset2020 and tips on showing up authentically in the world. 
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