IDENTITY
The Name You Answer To
20 mins ago
Joel Van Rossum
“But the Lord God called to the man, ‘Where are you?’
And he said, ‘I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.’
And He said, ‘Who told you that you were naked?’”
— Genesis 3:9–11
There are names you were never meant to answer to.
Words spoken over you that did not come from the Father.
Names shaped by fear, by insecurity, by trauma, or by the twisted narratives of others.
And if you’re not careful, you’ll build your entire life reacting to those names —
trying to escape shame, trying to prove your worth, trying to outrun the echo of something He never said.
That’s what happened in the garden.
Adam sinned, yes — but more than that, he was renamed by fear.
He went from walking with God to hiding from Him.
From being “very good” to ashamed, afraid, and covered.
“I was naked… so I hid.”
And God’s reply?
“Who told you that?”
That’s the same question echoing through every man’s life.
Who told you you were broken?
Who told you you were unworthy?
Who told you you’d always be angry, addicted, or unseen?
Because that name didn’t come from your Father.
🛠 Who Named You?
Maybe it was a dad who wasn’t there.
A coach who said you'd never be enough.
A friend who betrayed you.
A failure that scarred you.
A pastor who manipulated you.
Or even the sound of your own internal voice — hardened by years of silence and struggle.
And over time, you’ve worn those names like truth:
Too much. Not enough. Imposter. Addict. Problem. Coward. Insecure.
The enemy will rename you to waste your time.
To keep you busy reacting so you never become.
But brother — that name is not yours.
🧱 You’re Not What Happened to You
Jesus didn’t come to make you slightly better.
He came to make you new.
“If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation: the old has passed away…”
— 2 Corinthians 5:17
You are not a cleaned-up version of your past.
You are a restored image of the Father’s original intent.
And here’s the truth:
The new creation doesn’t answer to the old names.
He answers to:
Son
Loved
Free
Chosen
Righteous
Called
Heir
“If we do not know who we are, we will live as someone we were never meant to be.”
— Bill Johnson
🔥 Personal Reflection: When the Enemy Speaks Through Insecurity
In recent years, as I’ve stepped deeper into God’s call for my life, something became clear:
The war isn’t always internal — sometimes it comes through people.
And it often comes right before promotion.
People we had served.
People we had lifted out of dark places.
People we had sacrificed for.
Suddenly, they turned — calling us manipulators, liars, toxic, dangerous.
Every righteous characteristic we had tried to walk in was reversed and thrown back at us.
It broke our hearts.
Not because it was true — but because it was spiritual.
This wasn’t assumption or guesswork — we knew for a fact that demonic witchcraft was being worked to intimidate and silence us.
Real spiritual assignments, not imagined.
Meant to discourage us, discredit us, and drive us out of alignment with the call of God.
But I stood in sonship.
And I remembered — Jesus has the final say.
Not fear. Not slander. Not witchcraft.
Him.
And in that authority, He crushed every lie and reminded me:
“You are My son. I name you. And that is enough.”
“The devil is a better theologian than any of us and is a devil still.”
— A.W. Tozer
⚠️ Stop Living in Reaction
Some men spend their whole lives trying to prove they're not their dad.
Or that they’re worthy of love.
Or that they can outgrow what happened to them.
But that’s not freedom — that’s slavery in a different suit.
That’s reactive identity.
When you live from sonship, you stop reacting and start walking.
You stop explaining yourself and start bearing fruit.
You stop trying to earn the name — and start living like it’s already written in ink.
“See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!”
— 1 John 3:1
📓 Journal Prompts:
What names or labels have I answered to that didn’t come from God?
Where in my life am I still reacting instead of walking as a son?
What would change if I fully believed I am known, loved, and named by the Father?