Name Meanings: How Is Your Name Prophetic?
“A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches…” Proverbs 22:1 (ESV)
Most people love seeing their name. Personalized items are always in demand. However, did you know that your name and your name meanings might have a lot more to do with your life than you think? Your name meanings might actually describe some of your character traits and/or the traits that God will use in you to accomplish His will for your future.
When your parents named you they may have not even had name meanings in mind (I don’t think my parents did–I was named after a horse!), but that doesn’t mean that God didn’t have the name meanings in mind. God very well may have inspired them to choose your exact name. God knew your name and had a plan in mind for you before you were even born!
“I knew you before I formed you in your mother’s womb. Before you were born I set you apart…” Jeremiah 1:5 (NLT)
“Your eyes saw me when I was formless; all my days were written in Your book and planned before a single one of them began.” Psalm 139:16 (HCSB)
My name meanings
We’ve been talking recently about fighting some of the fears that we face (previous posts here and here). One of the things I didn’t mention is that I often use my name meanings to help me fight fear from time to time. The name “Tracy” means “courageous”, “brave” or “warrior” (maybe that’s why the horse was named Tracy 🙂 ). It may seem a little silly, but more often than not that little bit of information has been enough for me to give myself a boost to stand up to my fear and to do things afraid. I will say to myself, “Your name means courageous and brave. You can do this.”
My middle name is “Jeannette” which means “grace of God”. I have also experienced not only God’s grace in my life, but I believe that God has graciously given me the ability to have grace with others. Looking back on my life, I honestly have a hard time comprehending how I made it through certain times. I have had the ability and power to make it through situations that I ordinarily would never be able to handle. God’s grace, his ability and enabling power, was evident in my life.
