Let Him Give You A Name
I was spending some time in prayer and in the word, and as I was studying, the Lord was bringing to me two very contrasting images. One was the altar, which represents really sacrifice. It represents worship and it represents lifting up God's name. The other symbol that I saw was a tower. It reminded me of the tower of Babel that the Bible talks about. And if you've not read that story, you can read it in Genesis 11.
In the scripture, the people raise a tower and it says right here in Genesis 11:4… let's go build ourselves a city with a huge tower that reaches into heaven. That way we will make a name for ourselves. Their intention was to make themselves great. God then confused the language. He broke them into several language groups and they scattered across the earth. And, they never actually were able to make a name for themselves.
Here’s what He was saying to me: we have a choice when we're writing songs, what we build. We can use those songs to build altars and lift up the name of God, or we can choose to build our own towers and make a great name for ourselves - try to, at least. I tend to think that when we do that, when we're trying to make a great name for ourselves, as we're writing songs, that's when the language of the song gets confused and it's of little to no effect. Whereas when our hearts are pure, our intentions are right, and we are lifting up the name of Jesus. that's when a song has great impact.
I’m currently reading a book - The Grace Outpouring. It's a beautiful story of what happened in the countryside of Wales. And one of the pages was quoting Isaiah 56. It caught me off guard this morning, as I was reading it…
This is what the Lord says, maintain justice and do what's right…so those that are maintaining justice and doing what is right, I will give within my temple and its walls, a memorial, and a name better than sons and daughters. I will give them an everlasting name that will not be cut off. - Isaiah 56
Now, our job as worship songwriters is to lift high God’s name. And, when we do that, when we're faithful to do that, He's the one that gives us place and belonging in a name. Sometimes we get that backward, especially in the world of music. We want to make a name for ourselves instead of giving everything to Him and letting Him give us a name. And, that's really the right order. Otherwise, like I said, before, our lyrics get confused, they're not heard correctly. They become jumbled and they're of no effect, But, when we follow this biblical principle of building an altar with our songs, lifting up the name of God - it's up to Him to do the rest.
I believe He gave us a longing deep inside of us, for identity and that longing for a name = and there's nothing wrong with that. Where that gets twisted is when we're seeking our identity and a greater name for ourselves.
So, I hope this encourages you to maintain that rudder of your soul pointed in the right direction. I know any tiny deviation or turn will lead you in a completely different direction. So, keep your songs focused on the Lord - building altars that make His name great!
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