What's in a name...

You shall no more be termed Forsaken, nor shall your land be called Desolate any more. But you shall be called Hephzibah [My delight is in her], and your land be called Beulah [married]; for the Lord delights in you, and your land shall be married [owned and protected by the Lord].   

                          – Isaiah 62:3-5 (amplified bible)

“Is your world upside down right now?  The Lord wants you to know His heart,” the radio speaker shared the other afternoon,  as he spoke of some beautiful moments of prayer in his congregation.

One was of a time when a young widow stepped forward in tears…sharing how she’d lost her husband after only 30 days of marriage…and asking prayer for her finances, peace and strength and hope to go on.   A collection began on her behalf, when another, older widow believed the Lord was directing her to put her own wedding ring in the basket.  She’d had a lifetime of love, now this ring was a sacrifice she could make to help another.

As people made their way forward to add their own monetary contributions, someone spoke up.  He wished to “buy back” the wedding ring, putting in a check for thousands and retrieving the ring.

That’s when the Holy Spirit whispered to the minister.  He took the elderly woman’s hand …and right then and there spoke words of a new wedding ceremony over her.  “The Lord wants you to know that you are wed to Him, His forever bride,” he said softly, slipping the ring once more on her finger.

As I listened, tears starred my eyes.  Words of a tender scripture the Lord has led  me to read several times fell over me again in that moment…like gentle cherry blossoms on a breeze.  

I call you Hephzibah, for I delight in you…and Beulah…for I take you as my own…

Then yesterday, I opened up my email to read a blog I subscribe to – Whimsy Smitten – and read the writer’s beautiful thoughts along the same lines:

“When you were knit together inside your mother, God made a pronouncement upon you. He made you something…  He did not pronounce you a cheerleader or a missionary or a pastor’s wife or a mother.

He knew those things might be part of your story, but He made you with a depth that goes beyond your doings and your labels. He made you beloved, beautiful, joyful, full of light or laughter or encouragement or nurturing. He made you someone apart from your circumstances. Without the labels, do you know what you are called? 

Do you know what your name is?”         

                                     - Cara, at “Whimsey Smitten”

Thank you, Lord, for the names of beauty and light that you speak over each one of us, and that no matter what we are going through, no matter how we succeed or fail, whether we are your son or your daughter, married or single, your promise stands:

“You will be a crown of splendor in the LORD’s hand,

a royal diadem in the hand of your God.”

  – Isaiah 62: 2-4

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