By: LeeAnn Witzigman
“Beloved, we are God’s children right now; however, it is not yet apparent what we will become. But we do know that when it is finally made visible, we will be just like Him, for we will see Him as He truly is.” 1 John 3:2 TPT
I’ve been on a bit of a kick since last Fall and if you’re in my family or around me enough, I’ve probably given you a card with an olive branch on it that has the biblical meaning of your name written out. I’ve been totally consumed with what God is saying about us through our names and have seen such incredible breakthrough and deliverance in the lives of those I love once they realize who they are in Christ. This all started a few months ago as an activation exercise for the prophetic women’s small group that my mom and I led together. I thought it would be a fun and engaging way to get the group started, but I had no idea God was going to use it as a gateway to release tremendous glory!
As I was researching the Biblical meaning of every woman’s name in our group, I was taken to another dimension of intimately knowing them … and some of them I hadn’t even met yet. I couldn’t believe the power, authority, and dignity God had bestowed upon His daughters with each name, and the variety and uniqueness of each was truly overwhelming to my soul. In an instant, I began to see them with the eyes of my spirit and to understand a heavenly part of their destiny. The last name I looked up was my own … which means radiant, brilliant light and lovely light. A double portion of His glorious light! I felt such a deep confirmation burn in my heart and the rush of every person who has spoken about the “light” in me washed over the room like a holy flood. I’ve never experienced an affirmation from above like that in my life. And though it took 36 years to be exposed, I immediately clutched my identity like I’ve known it for one million lifetimes.
This name revelation from God has been an unleashing of hope and purpose in my home, family, and to everyone whose name I’ve looked up after our introduction. At Christmastime, I sat next to my grandmother who has lived for 82 years not knowing what her name meant. Tears of unspeakable freedom welled up inside of me as she read her card and nodded her head. I’m the third generation to carry her name, so her delight was multiplied in me and my daughter, who also carries this shining light of our family legacy. What ancestral power there is when we know what God has spoken over us!
Tuesday morning, I’m in Genesis reading the creation story and standing in the garden of Eden after the fall of man. As my eyes lingered over the prophecies declared by God as the result of their sin, I felt there was something missing in my understanding of it all. The very next line begins with Adam giving Eve her name. Like a lightning bolt of truth to my heart, it hit me. When the serpent offered death to Eve in the form of a forbidden fruit, she did not yet know her name. The name Eve means “life” or “to breathe.” And she is known as the mother of all. The serpent knows the meaning of our names just like the One who gave them to us. Living out who we are, and who we are called to be is crucial to experience victory in spiritual warfare. It just might be one the most successful weapons of faith we have when the enemy comes against us to attack our God-given likeness. And if you want to completely change the way you read the Bible, start looking up the meaning of every name mentioned in the scripture you’re studying. Sometimes, the meaning of names is the entire message of the passage!
I could keep writing testimonies about how profound God’s heart is even when wrapped around a single name. Only He can speak volumes in singular form. Only He can remind us of who we are as He prompts other people in our lives to speak out our names. When someone says your name, they’re declaring what God says about you to Heaven and Earth and Hell. Everyone who knows it’s meaning is listening and waiting to see if you’ll walk in it. Imagine what kind of world this would be if we all lived out the breath of God swirling within us and we upheld those around us by honoring what the Father has proclaimed about the sons and daughters He loves with an everlasting love. Families would be unified again as they defend these holy confirmations and they would protect what the Lord has established in every bloodline that flows from Heaven.
I pray He uses this article to entice every reader into looking up the Biblical meaning of their name, the names of those they love, and those they need to encourage. May we all become the light that sparks a divine wildfire in the earth that causes an explosion of glory that shakes hell and an eruption of celebration in Heaven!
*To look up your name, just google “bible meaning of the name ________” and search for the Hebrew translation.*
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