He Has Changed My Name and Given Me a New Song

“And He said, ‘Let Me go, for the day breaks.’ But he said, ‘I will not let You go unless You bless me!’ So He said to him, ‘What is your name?’ He said, ‘Jacob.’ And He said, ‘Your name shall no longer be Jacob, but Israel...” 

Jacob’s name was changed to Israel. Abram became Abraham; Sarai became Sarah. Saul was changed to Paul. Those are just a few of the people that God has changed the names of and given them a new identity. What if this was to happen to you? What would God speak over you? What would your new identity become? This has happened to me!

Please allow me to introduce myself. In Swahili my name is Furaha. And today, I received my Maasai name, Nengida. They both mean the same thing, but before the meaning….. a story.

If you know me, you know my wonderful humor. I have found a handful of the staff that I can joke around with and be sarcastic with. It has been quite lovely. One of the staff that I really enjoy making laugh is Vincent. He is in charge of the work duty. So, after I had been here about 5 weeks he came to me and says to me that I need a Swahili name. So, I said Okay, but you will have to choose my name. He told me that he would, but he needed a few days to choose the best one. So, days later he approaches me and simply says, “Furaha”.  I asked him what it meant, but he said he would not tell me, I would have to ask someone else. So I asked one of my friends what it meant and she looked at me and said with a great smile, “That is a great name! It means _____________”. (Gotta keep you in a little suspense) I went back to Vincent and asked him how he chose my name. He answered with this, “Because when I see you that who I see.” He also told me he had been observing my character those few days: the way I interacted with people, my personality, and how I handled certain situations. So are you ready to find out the meaning? Well…… it’s almost time for you to find out, but not quite yet.

This name has new become my identity. Furaha has become my new name. The majority of my friends call me this now, so I answer to it as if I have known this identity my entire life. A few days after I was given my new name, God and I had a conversation. As I began to pray and speak to Him, he told me that, “Vincent has echoed my words.” So God was also telling me that when He sees me, He also sees Furaha. Ok, so Furaha means joy. This is my new identity…. To be joyful, to be contagious with the joy the Father has given me.

I have found such a deeper joy; God has given me a joy everlasting. In the bad days, I still have a sense of pure joy. Not the felt emotion, but the state of mind. The first 4 verses of Psalm 40 have become a part of my testimony here, they read,

 “I waited patiently for the LORD; And He inclined to me, And heard my cry. He also brought me up out of a horrible pit, out of the miry clay, And set my feet upon a rock, And established my steps. He has put a new song in my mouth—Praise to our God; Many will see it and fear, And will trust in the LORD.”

God has taken away the taste of bitterness, and replaced with the sweetness of His holy joy. “Oh taste and see that the LORD is good.” He has given me a new song to sing, and I will sing it all the days of my life.