God wants to rename you. God wants your name to be Emmanuel. In your heart of hearts God wants you to be able to rename yourself. And the only way you can authentically give yourself that name Emmanuel is to experience God within you—to such an extent that you know beyond doubt that God is with you and within you.
The Jesus story is our story—the story of each of us as God’s holy child, born to testify to the love and grace of God. Jesus came to testify to who God is and who we are. Jesus’ life story showed us the love of God and the divinity as well as humanity within every human being.
Isaiah is your prophet! He is predicting all the names that will belong to you once your godchild is born in you.
Wonderful Counselor—you will be able to counsel others on how to connect with their Inner Wisdom—on how to participate in the birth of their own godchild. What a gift that will be that you will have to give others.
Prince of Peace—you will find a kind of peacefulness in your personality that will make you a new person. And the peacefulness that you experience will be evident to others who will want to know how you obtained it. You will have opportunities to help others to become peaceful people.
Emmanuel—God with us. That will be your most important spiritual name. It means God is with you and you are able to be with others in new and loving ways. You will be God’s representative to those with whom you come in contact. You will be able to rejoice with those who are rejoicing without envy over whatever has happened to them to cause them to be joyful. You will be able to grieve with those who are in sorrow without losing your balance. You will be able to be compassionate to those who need comfort, encouragement, and guidance without trying to control them. You finally will be able to be your genuine, original self, full of grace and love, God’s child.
Ann Glover O’Dell
December 2018
Ann Glover O'Dell 