He Knows My Name

Jennifer Lynn Brock- the name picked for me before I was born. Most parents have those names picked out long before their child enters the world. 
As I grew, I acquired more names. Soon I became Jenny, which a lot of my family still calls me today. Before long, though, my daddy gave me a nickname. First, it was Sissy. Through the years, he found other names for me: Meaty, which led to Fat Meat-(no, he wasn't being mean- I was as skinny as a bean pole when I was little! I just liked to eat meat all the time and no vegetables.....that's another story!) Then while Sissy was used often, he also would call me Patricia, or Patty. Where he got these names, I don't know! My younger brother became Tom. Even some of the guys I dated had nicknames, although they never knew that! Now, all of the grandchildren have other aliases as well!! There's Thump, Stump, Smooth, Jo and Short-stop. 
Sissy stuck for me, and it's the one he uses most of the time. A few of my uncles called me Sissy growing up, but it really only sounds "right" when coming from my daddy. 

As believers, we are given new names through our faith in Christ:

Isaiah 62:2b-3 -  ...you will be called by a new name that the mouth of the Lord will bestow.
You will be a crown of splendor in the Lord’s hand, a royal diadem in the hand of your God.

However, here lately, the enemy has whispered other titles and names over me. Names like Failure, No Good, Unable, Inadequate, Unloved. Did I mention Failure? The voices are loud, and easy to believe sometimes. I think it's because we are in a battle not of flesh and blood but against the principalities and rulers of this world. We forget that.

In  Pretty Woman, Julia Roberts' character says this line at the end of the movie: "I want the fairy-tale."
We too want that "happily ever after" life. But we forget that in every fairy tale, there is an evil villain. Such is the case in our lives, a very real enemy that seeks to destroy us. One way he does that is by blinding us and filling our minds with lies. Lies- it has been his strategy from the beginning. So while he whispers those "nicknames" over me and to me, I search for those things that my Daddy calls me. 
Here's what I found:
I am loved. Eph.2:4
I am His workmanship. Eph. 2:10
I am a citizen of Heaven. Phil. 3:20
I am reconciled, free from accusation. Col. 1:22
I am FORGIVEN. Col. 2:13b
I am chosen, dearly loved. Col. 3:12
I am cared for. 2 Peter 5:7
I am valuable. Luke 12:24
I was rejoiced over. Luke 15:10
I am more than a conquerer. Rom. 8:37
I am a child of God. John 15:16
I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Ps. 139:14
I have a purpose. Jer. 29:11
I am thought about by God. Ps. 139:17
I am set free. Rom. 6:18
I am healed. Ex. 15:26
I am sustained. Ps. 3:5

There are so many more. 
We can use these verses to encourage others, to tell them who they are in Christ. We can read them ourselves, bringing us to the realization of how much God really does love us. We then hear his voice giving us these names that He chose for us, and it sounds "right" coming from our Daddy, and no one else- but at the same time reminds me of one more thing I found while reading.
I am not my own. I was bought with a price.
1 Cor. 6:19

When reminded of that, I am humbled. I am grateful for my Father and all the ways He has shown His love to me. This brings me back to the issue of the enemy in our "fairy-tale." When I believe those lies, then I am giving the enemy rule and reign over that part of my life. I am not bringing the Lord any glory in the situation. Instead I am too busy focused on those names which the villain has called me instead of what God had already chosen to name me before I was born.
And when I listen to the enemy, I forget about that price that I was bought with- a sacrifice that allows me to be called all those things on that list, and more.
Because of that sacrifice, He can tell us this:
"Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name, you are mine." Isaiah 43:1b

Thankful and humbled that He knows my name.