YOUR PAST AND FUTURE ARE BEING REWRITTEN, BY YOUR NEW NAME

YOUR PAST AND FUTURE ARE BEING REWRITTEN, BY YOUR NEW NAME

The Lord is Redeeming Your Past and Your Future by Changing Your Name and Identity.

In biblical times, names were more than mere labels, they were declarations of identity and destiny. Ancient cultures, including Israel, believed that to know someone’s name was to know their total character and nature. The Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary notes in its entry on “Naming”:

“The biblical concept of naming was rooted in the ancient world’s understanding that a name expressed essence. To know the name of a person was to know that person’s total character and nature. The name defined them in some way, or even limited them.”

Take Abram, for instance. His name meant “exalted father”, a noble expectation placed upon him by his earthly parents. But when God stepped in, He changed Abram’s name to Abraham, which means “father of many nations” (Genesis 17:5). This name was not merely a rebrand, it was a recommissioning, a prophetic glimpse into Abraham’s spiritual legacy. That destiny was fulfilled not only because his name changed, but because Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness (Romans 4:3). Becoming Abraham required faith.

The giving of a new name is an invitation from God, an unveiling of how He sees us, and a reminder that our identity is not fixed, but unfolding.

We also see in Scripture that names can limit as much as they define. Jabez is a prime example. His name meant “sorrow,” a label placed on him because of the pain his mother endured in childbirth.

"Jabez was more honorable than his brothers; and his mother called his name Jabez, saying, ‘Because I bore him in pain.’"

Jabez called upon the God of Israel, saying, ‘Oh that you would bless me and enlarge my border, and that your hand might be with me, and that you would keep me from harm so that it might not bring me pain!’ And God granted what he asked."

(1 Chronicles 4:9-10)

If Jabez prayed that prayer, we can infer that he had been living the very definition of his name, limited, attacked, and sorrowful. Yet something in him rose up. He cried out, “God! Change my story! Redeem my past and my future!”

The word "granted" in Hebrew suggests more than a casual yes, it implies a transformational encounter. One of the Greek words associated with this word is baptizo, from which we derive baptism, means to immerse, to stain, to visibly mark, to transform by contact, to cause deep, permanent change. God didn’t just grant Jabez's request, He immersed him in a new identity. Jabez became something new, something different. His mind was renewed, his soul restored. His internal narrative, once driven by sorrow and limitation, was rewritten, and his life became a testimony for all to see, of God's redeeming power.

Before the visible miracles came, Jabez had to be transformed internally. God had to break the subconscious agreement Jabez had with a false identity, an identity shaped by pain. What happened was more than emotional, it was spiritual, neurological, and prophetic. This is what we call cognitive distortion: a false belief system that becomes a mental stronghold.

God baptized Jabez not just in favor, but in truth. His life was transformed from sorrow to significance. He reemerged a new creation, he came to the scene, he became whom he was always meant to be. People stopped looking at him with pity, and began to admire not only his honorable character, but his new, true identity, that matched his character.

He was renamed, maybe not in the natural, but in the Spirit! He embodied his true essence, a son born from sorrow, but transformed by honor! He didn't walk with his head hanging low, he walked with his head held high. His view of himself changed, because he could now see himself as God saw him. A man of honor!

Throughout Scripture, a change of name, whether given by God, a prophet, or even a king, marks covenant, calling, transformation, or transition. These name changes reveal how God invites His children to step into higher roles, aligned not with their past but with their eternal identity. These names are never based on human merit, they are prophetic assignments, glimpses into how heaven sees us.

Jacob became Israel (Genesis 32:28)

Jacob was named for his birth moment, grasping Esau’s heel (Yaakov), which means “heel-grabber” or “supplanter.” He lived up to it: deceiving, bargaining, fleeing. But then came the night that changed everything.

At the Jabbok River, Jacob wrestled with God Himself (Genesis 32:24-30). That struggle wasn’t just physical, it was spiritual. Jacob was being renamed by the only One who truly knew him. God said:

"Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with God and with men, and have prevailed."

(Genesis 32:28)

Israel means “he who wrestles with God” or “God prevails.” It was a name born not from deception but from intimacy, from being seen, held, and commissioned. From that moment, Jacob became Israel. He was marked, the change was visible, it was proof of his transformation! The one who had always fought for a blessing was now blessed by the One who gives it.

Joseph became Zaphenath-Paneah (Genesis 41:45)

Joseph’s name was changed by Pharaoh to Zaphenath-Paneah, meaning “Revealer of Secrets” or “God speaks and He lives.”

Joseph had been betrayed by his brothers, sold into slavery, falsely imprisoned, and forgotten. But every season of hiddenness was preparation. When Pharaoh renamed him, it was not to strip him of his Hebrew heritage but to affirm the divine authority that had been tested in secret.

God didn't remove Joseph from Egypt, He elevated him within it, showing that even in foreign systems, His purpose stands. Joseph saved Egypt, saved Israel, and foreshadowed Christ, all under a name that spoke of revelation and life.

Hadassah became Esther (Esther 2:7)

Hadassah means myrtle tree, a plant that releases fragrance only when crushed. It represents hidden beauty and healing after judgment.

Esther, her Persian name, means star and is linked to the Hebrew word satar, meaning to hide.

Esther was orphaned, taken into a foreign palace, and renamed. She could have lost her identity, but instead she stepped into it. Her name changed, but her calling emerged. She moved from hiddenness to influence, from obscurity to royal intercession.

"And who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?"

(Esther 4:14)

Her pain positioned her. Her obedience activated her purpose. Her new name was not a loss, it was a signal that her season had changed.

A Holy Redemption

Names in Scripture point forward, not backward. They mark turning points. They reflect how heaven sees us, not how earth has labeled us.

God is saying to His faithful ones:

“Because you didn’t buckle under the weight of life, because you believed My promises, because you yielded to the refining, I am redeeming your past and your future by giving you a new name. What the world called you will not define you. What pain tried to name you will not follow you. I knew you before you were formed in the womb. I wrote eternity on your heart. And now the time has come for what I embroidered into your spirit to rise.

You are called to shift atmospheres, to establish My government on the earth, to reign over what once tried to rule you. Watch Me flip the script. Watch as kairos and chronos converge. My will shall be established in your life through your yieldedness.”

Beloved,

The Lord is about to do a mighty work in our midst.

He’s about to flip the script, to change the narrative, and overturn what we and others have believed about our purpose and destiny.

But hear this:

It comes at a high price.

The name change is costly.

The process is painful.

Some of us have just emerged from that process, refined, renamed, repositioned.

Others have received their new name in the Spirit, and are about to walk through the fire that forges identity.

Wherever you are in the journey, stepping in, walking through, or rising up, the Lord Is with you.

He Is redeeming.

He Is rewriting.

And He Is revealing a new story.

A story of power, glory, and victory.

A story of redemption, possession, and divine positioning.

This is not just a personal shift.

This is a prophetic shift.

Rosangela Atte

The Shift Her Christian Life & Brain Coaching