“We all have unhealthy coping mechanisms and go-to habits that come with the old labels we once wore. The challenge in the name-changing process is to find new ways to cope, new ways to pray, and new ways to live healthier out of our new names.”- Esther Fleece Allen
“I sought the LORD, and he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears.”- Psalm 34:4 (NIV)
Esther Fleece Allen concludes Chapter 6 of Your New Name as she counsels us to keep our guard up when our old coping mechanisms come back and make themselves look attractive. In faith, ask God to help you withstand. Hence, don’t give in to the lure of living out of your old names or totally ignoring self-reflection. Commit to the hard work of receiving a new identity.
Furthermore, perhaps like Esther, you need a reminder of permission to pray and to lament. Esther explains why God’s okay with this:
“In fact, our tears can often be the oil that helps to remove those old sticky labels, preparing our hearts to receive the new name God has for us. He knows we need reminders of who we are, and He gently puts people in our lives to gently nudge us back to the truth about Him.”
Also, even as Christ followers, we still need God to save us, name us, and reidentify us. Above all, Esther points out, we’re saved in the name of the Lord. Because we constantly need the name of the Lord. So, throughout the renaming process, call out to God’s name and ask for His help. Cry out in prayer, “save me.”
Finally, Esther tells why this prayer benefits us:
“When we pray, ‘Save me,’ we affirm God’s sovereignty and power to deliver us and heal us completely, and we humbly acknowledge that God is the one who gives us a new identity and makes us whole. When we stop praying, ‘Save me,’ we get confident in our own abilities to save ourselves.”
Today’s question: What unhealthy coping mechanisms and go-to habits come with your old labels? Please share.
Tomorrow’s blog: “Impatiently wait for God’s timing”
