The Name

A name. It is part of what defines you. Sometimes people hear a name and say, “it fits that person.” Sometimes, not so much. When children are born, we take great lengths to find the perfect name for the child. It might be given before birth or perhaps after, but still it is not given without great deliberation.

My children were no different. Philip Daniel, Candace Lee, and Bethany Joy were all given with great care and thought. Each named after a person or simply because we liked a name. And each of their names can be found in the Bible…Philip and Candace in the same chapter of the book of Acts. I would assume that my parents spent time in deciding upon my name and the names of my siblings.

Names are important. They have been since the beginning of time. Adam took the time to name each animal God had created. The final name he gave was to Eve, his perfect mate.

God changed Abram’s name to Abraham and Sarai to Sarah in Genesis 17. He gave the name of Israel to Jacob in Genesis 32. And in the New Testament, we see Jesus changing the name of Simon to Peter in Matthew 16, after Peter’s confession of Christ.

With these new names, their lives were changed. Changed to be committed people of God. Their new names would reflect who they belonged to. The Lord.

Also in Scripture, we see many names for God. But I don’t want to look at the list of names; I want to discuss The Name.

“The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are safe.” (Proverbs 18:10 NKJV)

Wow! This verse tells us that His Name is amazing and powerful. Yet sometimes we dismiss it, forget it, or ignore its power. There are other verses that lead us to this conclusion as well.

• Psalm 8:1 – “O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth.”
• Isaiah 12:4 – “Give thanks to the Lord, call on his name; make known among the nations what he has done, and proclaim that his name is exalted.”
• Micah 5:4 – “He will stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God.”
• Deuteronomy 28:58 – “…revere this glorious and awesome name—the Lord your God.”

His Name. That’s it. The Proverbs passage tells us His Name is a strong tower. That in His Name there is great strength and protection. Simply in His Name.

And what are we to do? We are to run to it for safety. Run. Directly to him. We see from the following passages how we are to run.

• Psalm 119:32 – “I run in the path of your commands, for you have set my heart free.”
• 1 Corinthians 9:26 – “Do not run like someone running aimlessly.”
• Hebrews 23:1a-2b – “Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith.”

The Amplified Version adds some insight into the Proverbs passage. Take a look.

“The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the [consistently] righteous man [upright and in right standing with God] runs into it and is safe, high [above evil] and strong.” (Proverbs 18:10)

The consistently righteous man knows where the power is. It is in the Name of God. He knows outside the safety of the strong tower, evil will be there to lure him into its clutches.

I didn’t care for my name for years and I really don’t like the song “Donna,” even though I hear it quite often from people. But through the years I’ve come to enjoy hearing my name. Especially from those who love me. I look forward to the day when Jesus calls me by name, and then writes my new name on a white stone. I wonder what that name will be?

Grace and peace be yours in abundance,

Donna