We’ve all had to rock those awesome white name tags at events. You walk in, and you’re given a white sticker and a Sharpie to write your name so that as you make your way through the crowd other people can identify you. Most of the time we write the name we go by: Haley, Adam, Kristyn, Troy…and if you’re like me, you forget to take it off, wash the laundry, and end up googling “laundry solutions for Dummies.”
But what would you write if you wrote who you really think you are? If you had to write the name that haunts you in the night, the name that is constantly whispered in the recesses of your mind? Maybe you’d write “Coward.” Or maybe “Lonely.” “Loud.” “Shy.” “Control freak.” “Mental case.” “Depressed.” “Anxious.”
Mine? “Unwanted.” Since I was a little girl I have believed that I am expendable. Leave-able. Disposable.
Good gracious, I am done with that heavy label. Jesus has ripped off the tag, and boldly declared over me, “That’s not your name.” The strong love and compassion of my Savior has given me the right name tag: “His.” I may spend the rest of my life picking off the sticky residue left on the shirt of my soul from wearing that vicious lie of a name for too long, but the label is destroyed.
So what is your false label? We all believe something about who we are. The great tragedy is that far too often who we believe we are is far from the truth.
Oh, friend. That label…that thing you’ve believed about yourself all this time, that thing that weighs you down and haunts you in the darkness of night…that’s not your name.
Your name is “Beloved.” Your name is “Cherished One.” Your name is “Redeemed.” “Whole.” “Lovely.” “Desired.”
Your name is “Royalty.”
So when shame and lies come to steal your dreams telling you that you can never escape, run for the truth and declare, “That is not my name!” Run to Jesus, the only one with the authority to tell you who you really are.
Let’s ditch the tags, and let’s run free.
Run Hard. Love Strong.
Haley
Haley Bodine 