What’s in a Name?

“Jabez was more honorable than his brothers. His mother named him Jabez and said, “I gave birth to him in pain.” (1 Chronicles 4:9)


In Jesus’ time, people often named their children a particular name because it sounded like another word, and names were very intentional. We read in 1 Chronicles chapter 4 that Jabez’s name was given to him because his mother was in extreme pain when she gave birth to him; therefore, his name in the Hebrew language actually sounds like the Hebrew word for ‘pain.’

Have you ever felt like you were walking around with a sign on your back that says, “Kick me?” For Jabez, we can only imagine how frustrating and disheartening it would be to have a name so degrading. Every time someone calls his name, he is reminded that he caused his mother pain. Do you ever feel like you’re known only by what you’ve done wrong? Perhaps you feel like the most significant thing about you is the pain you’ve caused or the sin you’ve committed.

The weight we carry because of our shame is not ours to carry. We were never intended to harbor so much self-hatred and self-loathing. Satan calls us by our sin and by our shortcomings. He calls us by our mistakes and our misunderstandings, our guilt and shame, and before we know it, our shame begins to sound like our name. We begin to believe that our shame defines us.

But friend, God calls you by your name.

You might be written off by all others, but God has a different plan for you. Perhaps you’ve believed the lie that you are your sin, your shame, your mistakes, and you believe that your life will never measure up because of who you are, but that’s not your story.

Over the next several days, we’re going to look at how God turns our lives around. You might feel like the product of your circumstances, and you might feel defined by your past, but that’s not who God declares that you are. That’s not the name He’s given you.

He wants to turn it around—He wants to turn your life around, turn your perception around, and bless you so that you see what He sees in you.