I Have a New Name

God spends a lot of time in the Bible
Telling us who we are
It's almost as if He knew that we would doubt
Who that was, from time to time
It's as if He saw it coming

That we'd spend our whole lives searching
For what our identity, what our real name was
And that there'd be many moments in our lives
Where we'd let different kinds of names define us

When we've looked in the mirror
Compared ourselves to pictures, and heard the name "Ugly"
When we've been left by loved ones
People we trusted once, and heard the name "Unworthy"

When we've been drowning in discouragement
Living in a seemingly never-ending crisis, and heard the name "Forgotten"
When we've had our hopes up and our hearts open
Only to be brought down by closed doors, and we've heard "Rejected"

When we've looked for infinite, affirming love
Through lesser, physical, fleshly versions
When we gave it away or when it was stolen
And we heard "Impure," we heard "Garbage"

When we go to other vices to ease our pain
And we hear "Addict," we hear "Forever Broken"
When we feel like we're living in the shadow of someone else's calling
And we hear "Second Place"

When our pain cripples us to a point
Where we don't even know how to let others in, and we hear "Lonely"
When our past seems too gross for others to forgive
And we hear "Disgusting"

It's overwhelming
These voices we're constantly hearing
It's suffocating
This air of constant critique and comparing
And it's sort of amazing

The people whose voices I've allowed to name me
The power I've given to my past, to my mirror, and to my surroundings
And enabled them to identify me
The amount of years I've spent living up to whatever others say about me

But God says something else about me
It's like He knew there would be other voices
So He wrote His voice down in a timeless Book of Truths
That would remind us over and over again
In the moments when lies would block His truths
And somehow make us forget

So I'm going back to the Source
Not the people I've allowed to represent God to me
But the actual, literal, tangible words that He has written down for me
And there's some other names He's given to me

John 15:15
He calls me "Friend"
1 Thessalonians 1:4
He calls me "Chosen"

Ephesians 2:10
He calls me His "Masterpiece"
He calls me His "Art," He calls me "Hand-made"
He calls me "Purposed and Fashioned for Good Things"

1 Corinthians 6:19
He calls my body "A Temple"
He calls it "The Residence of the Holy Spirit"
Acts 1:8
He calls me His "Messenger to the World"

Galatians 3:26
He calls me His "Child"
Romans 5:8
He calls me "Greatly Loved"

John 8:36
He calls me "Free," free indeed
2 Corinthians 5:17
He calls me "Brand New"

And it's amazing how different these names are
From the names I'm used to listening to
And in my journey to discover who I really am
In my battle to uncover the truths of myself
I've learned something new about my name
And now, this is what I am certain of

My name is not the name the world calls me
My name is not the name my past calls me
My name is not even the name my own mirror calls me
But my name, my name is the name I choose to answer to

And I can choose today
From this moment forward
To answer to a new name

When I hear, "Lonely," that's not me
When I hear "Disgusting," that's not me
When I hear "Unworthy," I don't even look over my shoulder
When I hear "Broken," they must have confused me
Please, look elsewhere

When I hear, "Ugly," "Abandoned," "Useless," "Forgotten"
I figure someone just has to remind them
Maybe those were my old names
But they're no longer the names that I will respond to
My name is the name I have chosen to spend my days living up to

And if these other voices
Are not saying the same thing
That the truth is, I look in my mirror and I repeat this
"They have no right to be speaking to you"

When you stop answering to all your old names
They stop having power over you
The names that my Father, Eternity's Author
The world's Creator has called me
Are the only names that I answer to

When I hear "Friend of God," that's my name
"Chosen," that's my name
"Loved," "Wanted," "Created with a Purpose," that's my name
"God's Messenger," that's my name
"God's Masterpiece," that's my name
"Child of God," you must be looking for me
"Greatly Loved," you must be calling for me
"Brand New," that is my name
So that is a name that will I respond to

Because the enemy has no power here
Perfect love casts out all fear
And perfect love has named me and you

So what is your new name?
What is stirring up inside of you
When you hear these words, that His Word
That the Word has proclaimed
What do you know is the name God is calling you

Maybe it's not the name you grew up with
Maybe it's not the name your old friends associate you with
Maybe it's not the name that your whole life you were used to identifying with
But it's the name you now answer to
So when the enemy tries to get to you
It's just the name you introduce yourself with

As for me, my name is "Forgiven"
My name is "Free," my name is "Brand New"
"Loved," "Wanted," "Child of God," "Created with a Purpose"
And it's been a pleasure to meet you