Living Up to the Wrong Name

For my entire life, people have been mispronouncing my last name. Usually, they use FISHBROOK… And the reasoning has something to do with where fish live, but despite their logic, it’s still wrong! After a while, you get used to a broken name, but that doesn’t make it right.

If I’m being honest, I didn’t just carry the broken names in my soul—I lived them out.

That’s the danger of identity. Eventually, we become what we believe about ourselves.

Jacob did.

Jacob’s name, in the Old Testament, literally meant “supplanter.” He was a deceiver and an infamous manipulator. And what did he do throughout his life? He deceived. He manipulated. He took advantage of people’s weaknesses.

At some point, that broken name stops feeling like a mistake and starts feeling like who you are. We internalize that brokenness, and it becomes a part of our identity.

I’ve had moments like that. Times when I thought, “This is just me. This is how I am.” And once you believe that, change feels impossible.

But God doesn’t agree with that version of you. Listen to His perspective:

“See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?” (Isaiah 43:19, NIV)

This is the beauty of transformation. 

God sees beyond the pattern. Beyond the behavior. Beyond the label. He sees who you were created to be.

Jacob’s story reminds me that just because I’ve lived a certain way doesn’t mean I’m locked into that identity forever. My past may explain parts of me, but it does not define me.

You may feel like you’ve repeated the same mistakes too many times. Like your story is already written.

It’s not!

God is still writing.

And He specializes in rewriting names. He renamed Jacob, and He can rename you too!

Today, don’t excuse the old name—but don’t accept it either. Bring it into the light. Let God begin to separate who you are from what you’ve done.

Because those are not the same thing. Let’s pray together:

“God, I’ve been living out of an identity that doesn’t reflect who You created me to be. I’ve believed lies about myself and acted on them. Help me to see myself the way You see me. Break the patterns that come from the wrong identity and lead me into something new. In the power of Jesus’ name. Amen.”

Never forget, my friend—

You are a miracle!