Genesis 32:27-29 The man said, “What’s your name?” He answered, “Jacob.” The man said, “But no longer. Your name is no longer Jacob. From now on it’s Israel (God-Wrestler); you’ve wrestled with God and you’ve come through.” Jacob asked, “And what’s your name?” The man said, “Why do you want to know my name?” And then, right then and there, he blessed him.

You can’t step into God’s presence and stay the same. One encounter is all it takes to spark a 180-degree shift. Just look at the lives of those who met Him; they were never the same again

The story of Tony Campolo and the street woman really touches me. He was sitting in a small cafe in Honolulu very early one night. While he was there, a group of prostitutes walked in, and he overheard one of them saying that the next day was her birthday.

The woman, Agnes, added, half laughing: “I’ve never had a birthday party in my life.” Those words hit Tony hard.

The next day, he and the cafe owner organised a surprise party for her. Balloons, a cake, candles, and all her colleagues were ordered to celebrate with her, without her knowing it.

When Agnes walked in and realised that the party was for her, tears rolled down her cheeks. She could hardly believe that someone had noticed her. For the first time in her life, she was not just a prostitute, but someone whose life was being celebrated.

Tony later realised that night had been a profound demonstration of God’s grace in action. God turns people’s lives around. He gives new value and a new identity. From nothing to much more.

Jacob’s name means “deceiver”. After his struggle with God, he was renamed. By calling him Israel, God signalled that their encounter had fundamentally shifted his identity and his future.

He was no longer trapped in old ways. His new name regularly reminded him of God’s grace and of a new beginning.

Just as God gave Jacob and Agnes a new identity, so He gives it to each of us. We are no longer people without direction aimlessly floundering through life. God makes us different.

That is why we are called to live as new people with a new identity. Intimacy with God often begins where you honestly acknowledge your name, confess your mistakes, and allow God to call you new.

Prayer
Father God, thank you for my new identity. Thank you that I’m no longer going nowhere, but going somewhere, because You have given me a new name and a new identity. Help me now to live as a new person in the old world …

Questions
What old name do you need to give up today?
By what new name does God call you today?
How do you live your new identity practically?

Now do this
Honestly acknowledge your old name before God and name what still binds you to the past.
Accept God’s new name over your life and say out loud who you are now in Him.
Live differently today by intentionally making one choice that shows you believe your identity is new.