Listen

When Abram was 99 years old, the Lord appeared to Abram and said to him, “I am El Shaddai. Walk with me and be trustworthy. I will make a covenant between us and I will give you many, many descendants.” Abram fell on his face, and God said to him, “But me, my covenant is with you; you will be the ancestor of many nations. And because I have made you the ancestor of many nations, your name will no longer be Abram but Abraham. I will make you very fertile. I will produce nations from you, and kings will come from you. I will set up my covenant with you and your descendants after you in every generation as an enduring covenant. I will be your God and your descendants’ God after you."

Genesis 17:1-7

Think

My parents named me Peter, but in middle school I started going by “Pete,” which I thought was much cooler. That stuck until the middle of college, when for a variety of reasons, I decided to put the “r” back on my name. To this day, I am easily reminded when certain people first met me by which version of my name they use.

God — also known by the name “El Shaddai” — changes Abram’s name to Abraham as a sign of the covenant God makes with him. While it’s fun to look at the various plays on words found in the different names (especially in their original Hebrew forms), what’s even more important is the reason his name was changed. It was to mark a covenant of belonging between God, Abraham, and his descendants. His name itself served as a reminder of God’s promise.

Peter Hanson

Pray

You have called me by name, O God, and I am yours. Call to me again, remind me of both who I am and whose I am. Amen.

Go

Walk with God, trusting in God’s promises.

Be convinced that God will do what God has promised to do.

Live in that trust, in that conviction, in that faith.

Walk with God and be trustworthy.