A NEW YEAR…A NEW NAME!

GENESIS 17:4-5: “As for me, here is my covenant with you: You will become the father of many nations.  (5)  Your name will no longer be Abram; your name will be Abraham, for I will make you the father of many nations.”

OBSERVATION: What is in a name? Are names really important? Throughout Scripture, God gives great attention and meaning to names. A name both describes and defines a person from God’s perspective. It encompasses who they are and who they are called to become.

God chose Abraham to receive His covenant of promise for mankind. In doing so, God spoke words of promise and purpose to Abraham. There was a definite change in the trajectory of Abraham’s life from the point of his call. With this call from God, he also received a new name. He would no longer be called Abram, but his name from this point forward would be Abraham.

Abram was an important name. It was a name of position and prominence. It meant “high father.” Abram was a rich man who had been greatly blessed by God. Yet, Abram was not a called man. Abram’s life was incomplete until God called him to leave his father’s land and follow the new destiny God would give him.

From the outside, it appeared Abram had everything a man could ask for. He had great riches. He was a prominent figure and commanded respect among his peers. He married the woman that he greatly loved. Yet, in all of this, Abram lacked two very important things. First, he lacked a divine purpose for his life. Second, Abram lacked a son, an heir, from the wife he greatly loved.

God’s call changed all this!

GENESIS 17:6-9:“I will make you extremely fruitful and will make nations and kings come from you.  (7)  I will confirm my covenant that is between me and you and your future offspring throughout their generations. It is a permanent covenant to be your God and the God of your offspring after you.  (8)  And to you and your future offspring I will give the land where you are residing—all the land of Canaan—as a permanent possession, and I will be their God.”  (9)  God also said to Abraham, “As for you, you and your offspring after you throughout their generations are to keep my covenant.”

Abram was promised that he would become the father of nations and kings. This would require that God grant him the desire of his heart – a son to carry on his family line. Abram was also promised that he would be given God’s covenant through which God would bless the entire world. Abram received both promise and purpose and God changes his name to reflect this and to remind Abram of his calling.

His name would no longer be Abram, “high father.”

His name would now be Abraham, “father of many nations.”

Abraham’s calling and purpose were not for his personal comfort and blessing. It was to fulfill God’s plan of blessing and redemption for His entire creation. Abraham became the father of faith and promise for all who will believe. It is through Abraham’s lineage that the Messiah came to save the world. And, it is through Abraham’s example that we all receive the gift of salvation by grace through faith!

ROMANS 4:16:“This is why the promise is by faith, so that it may be according to grace, to guarantee it to all the descendants—not only to the one who is of the law but also to the one who is of Abraham’s faith. He is the father of us all.”

Why is this so important? What does this have to do with how I approach this New Year? God has also given each one of us a new name. We have the choice of living up to this name, by grace through faith, or settling and taking on a name of our own choosing or one pushed upon us by the world and the enemy of our souls.

What kind of a year was 2024? For many, it was a year filled with suffering and disappointment. One dear friend noted it was one of the two worst years in their life. When we go through difficulty or suffering it is easy to lay down the name that God has given to us and embrace a name that defines our current situation. We begin to call ourselves weak, forgotten, overcome, disappointed, abandoned. We are tempted to forget the name of promise that God has spoken over our lives. We become like Sarah and doubt God’s Word and promise.

GENESIS 18:10-12:“The LORD said, “I will certainly come back to you in about a year’s time, and your wife Sarah will have a son!” Now Sarah was listening at the entrance of the tent behind him.  (11)  Abraham and Sarah were old and getting on in years. Sarah had passed the age of childbearing.  (12)  So she laughed to herself: “After I am worn out and my lord is old, will I have delight?”

Sarah, then named Sarai, focused on her limitations and not God’s promise or power. Yet, God still changed her name! He still proclaimed His promise and blessing upon her life. Sarah’s doubt was not greater than God’s promise!

GENESIS 18:13-15:“But the LORD asked Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh, saying, ‘Can I really have a baby when I’m old?’  (14)  Is anything impossible for the LORD? At the appointed time I will come back to you, and in about a year she will have a son.”  (15)  Sarah denied it. “I did not laugh,” she said, because she was afraid. But he replied, “No, you did laugh.”

What name will I enter 2025 with? Will it be overcome or overcomer? Will it be vanquished or victorious? Will it be failure or favored by God? Will it be impossible or empowered by the God of the possible? The Holy Spirit is whispering to each one reading this post with these words…

“Is anything impossible for the Lord?”

The world is replete with names that tear down and keep one from the covenant and purposes of God. God’s Word is replete with the names that God has given us through faith in Jesus Christ our Lord. We can embrace the lie or live in the power of the truth. Abram became Abraham as he walked in faith and in hope believed against hope. Abraham refused to be limited by his limited ability and put his trust in the God of the possible. As a result, Abraham is the father of faith to all who believe.

Lord, open my eyes to see, my ears to hear, the whisper of the Holy Spirit speaking my new name. Let me rise up with renewed faith to walk in the promises and purpose You have called me to. Help me to live up to my new name by grace through faith!

REVELATION 2:17:“Let anyone who has ears to hear listen to what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers, I will give some of the hidden manna. I will also give him a white stone, and on the stone a new name is inscribed that no one knows except the one who receives it.”

In Jesus’ Name!