“Establishing a familiarity with our new name will not be a quick fix, nor will it be an overnight path to break unhealthy cycles of dysfunction. Those of us with a past (hint: all of us) will need to spend intentional moments ensuring that our past brokenness does not become our present or future brokenness.”- Esther Fleece Allen
“Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, ‘I will confess my transgressions to the LORD. And you forgot the guilt of my sin.”- Psalm 12:5 (NIV)
Esther Fleece Allen concludes Chapter 2 of Your New Name as she observes that God doesn’t give you a new name, then expect you to live out of your new name in isolation. Everyone needs trusted loved ones to support them. When we surround ourselves with truth-tellers, we all benefit.
However, Esther stresses, it’s imperative that we intentionally pursue wholeness, healing, and new patterns of thinking and behavior. Because we live in a sinful world. And every person possesses a sinful nature. Above all, Esther urges us to focus our awareness on our iniquity. Since iniquity is a bent toward sin, it’s harder to recognize. Furthermore, sometimes others see our iniquity far easier than we see it in ourselves. Esther continues:
” . . . we can live out of iniquity when we’re lazy in prioritizing who God says we are. Some of us wrongly believe that God does not take seriously the lies we believe about ourselves. Iniquity is not a ‘lesser sin’: it is an inner act of willfulness against God that is contrary to God’s character. It make God out to be a liar, and God cannot lie (Titus 1:2). . . . We are prone to iniquity when we believe our own thoughts and feelings above what the Word of God says about us.”
Finally, our iniquities compete with our identity as God’s children. Therefore, we must go beyond simply naming our bents. We must confess them and repent of believing them. Even if we believed them on a subconscious level.
Today’s question: What helps you in establishing a familiarity with your new name? Please share.
Tomorrow’s blog: “The perfect Father – our heavenly Father”
