“Being left alone in our thoughts is a dangerous place to be. We begin conspiring about how to manipulate people or circumstances to make our new name or calling come about instead of leaving it in God’s hands. . . . If we’re walking with God in the newness of the Christian life, God will constantly be teaching us and transforming us.”- Esther Fleece Allen
In Chapter 10 (“We Overcome”) of Your New Name, Esther Fleece Allen counsels that sometimes we overidentify with our wounds. Consequently, we feel paralyzed, unable to move past our seasons of brokenness. Thus we cannot look for the new things God’s doing in our lives.
Therefore, Esther advises what to do when you feel stuck in an old label or not quite sure that a new name fits you. Process these thoughts with another person. Because God created us to need each other in the name-changing process.
Furthermore, Esther reminds us, our stories carry great importance. They form part of our testimony about what God’s done for us. Hence, there’s a second part to our stories. How are we:
- overcoming?
- being made new?
- bearing witness of God’s ongoing faithfulness?
For when we fail to let go of our old names, we identify with our old stories. As a result, we make the name-changing process about us. But, since the process isn’t about us, that means we don’t have to go it alone. As Esther explains, God always stays with us:
“Yet we are never left to our own resources. . . . [God] strengthens and equips us every day to live into our new identity. He knows it’s a big change from our old story. He has compassion for us in this major transition and leads us step by step into a new story that’s even better than we could have imagined.”
Finally, leaning into your new name takes time. Certainly, you require God’s ever-present help for this lifelong journey. Also, your new names and God’s soul work continue to build stories of His faithfulness.
Today’s question: What Scriptures help us when we find ourselves left alone with our thoughts? Please share.
Tomorrow’s blog: “God births a beautiful name in you”
