By Susan Tuttle
I’ve thought a lot about names lately. As women, we so often wear a name tag we never were meant to wear. God’s been working with me on this one, and I want to share something.
I recently read Ruth. There’s a lot of great lessons in that book. But what jumped out at me was how Naomi renamed herself Mara, which means bitterness. She had a beautiful name that meant pleasant or delightful, and she allowed her circumstances to rename her. Now, God renamed several people in the Bible: Abraham, Sarah, Jacob…but here is an instance of someone renaming herself.
Maybe just like Naomi, you’ve renamed yourself. Maybe Bitterness, like her. Or maybe it’s Insignificant, Ugly, Worthless…oh, satan is full of names we’re never meant to wear. But, read Ruth. Go on, read it. Naomi renames herself, but nowhere else in scripture is that name used. She is still called Naomi throughout the entire book. See, all scripture is God-breathed (Timothy 3:16), which means that even though Naomi tried hard to call herself by a new name, God never did—because He knew it wasn’t her name. She'd chosen it. He hadn't given it.
Are you wearing a name you’ve given yourself? One you aren’t supposed to have? Rip off that name tag. It’s not yours! God has a name for you, don’t scribble it out and write your own on top. The one He’s given you is much too beautiful to cover.
©2011 Susan Tuttle
Susan Tuttle is a stay-at-home, homeschooling mother of three whom God has filled with a passion to reach hurting women and draw them to His healing hands.
I’ve thought a lot about names lately. As women, we so often wear a name tag we never were meant to wear. God’s been working with me on this one, and I want to share something.
I recently read Ruth. There’s a lot of great lessons in that book. But what jumped out at me was how Naomi renamed herself Mara, which means bitterness. She had a beautiful name that meant pleasant or delightful, and she allowed her circumstances to rename her. Now, God renamed several people in the Bible: Abraham, Sarah, Jacob…but here is an instance of someone renaming herself.
Maybe just like Naomi, you’ve renamed yourself. Maybe Bitterness, like her. Or maybe it’s Insignificant, Ugly, Worthless…oh, satan is full of names we’re never meant to wear. But, read Ruth. Go on, read it. Naomi renames herself, but nowhere else in scripture is that name used. She is still called Naomi throughout the entire book. See, all scripture is God-breathed (Timothy 3:16), which means that even though Naomi tried hard to call herself by a new name, God never did—because He knew it wasn’t her name. She'd chosen it. He hadn't given it.
Are you wearing a name you’ve given yourself? One you aren’t supposed to have? Rip off that name tag. It’s not yours! God has a name for you, don’t scribble it out and write your own on top. The one He’s given you is much too beautiful to cover.
©2011 Susan Tuttle
Susan Tuttle is a stay-at-home, homeschooling mother of three whom God has filled with a passion to reach hurting women and draw them to His healing hands.
RSS Feed