“And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light (Genesis 1:3)
There is something very interesting about God creating light. He spoke of it before it ever was. He spoke of light when there was no light. And because he spoke of it, it appeared. In fact, in the account of the creation in Genesis chapter one, God spoke of everything before it appeared – the sky, land, the seas, vegetation, the sun and moon. All this and more came into existence just because God told it to. None of this existed before God summoned it. Pretty amazing when you think about it.
God does the same with people as well. He named an old man Abraham. The name Abraham means in the Hebrew father of the multitudes. God named him Abraham when his wife was barren, and they had no children at all. But sure enough, Abraham became a father of many nations. Then there was a boy God named Joseph. Joseph means he shall increase. But Joseph was rejected by his family, falsely accused, and thrown into prison. How is a man supposed to increase under those conditions? Well, sure enough, Joseph increased to the point that he became second in command of all Egypt.
Then there was a man who we could say was a coward. He lived in fear of his enemies. God named him Gideon. Know what Gideon means? It means to strike down. How is a weenie going to strike down his enemies? And yet, Gideon became a hero in Israel who indeed struck down the nations’ nemesis.
And we can’t forget Mr. Unstable, himself – Peter. Peter was a passionate man who had a lot of zeal but very little wisdom and understanding. Know what Peter means? It means rock. Maybe a lump of wet cement, but certainly not a rock. Yet, he became a rock of great strength for God’s glory.
Here is the lesson we need to learn from all this. In the case of creation, these things were not until God said they were. In the case of these biblical characters, they were each given a name that was not……until God said they were. We see ourselves as we are. But God sees us as he has called us to be. God gives each of us an identity not based on our past…..but on our future; on the person he will help us become.
The secret is to receive God’s identity and believe it before we can even see it, because God can see it in us. Our identity is not a person who is rejected, or weak, or defeated. Our identity in Christ is beloved, mighty, victorious. God has given each of us a name that we may not be able to see…..yet. A name that he will mold us into. It really is simple. We just need to “Let there be light.” Darlene