One day a Native American boy asked his father, “Father, how did we (siblings) get our names?”

“Well,” said the father, “When your sister was born, I came out of the tepee and the first thing I saw was a soaring eagle, so we named her Soaring Eagle. When your brother was born, I came out of the tepee and saw a running bull, so we named him Running Bull.” Perplexed by his son’s question, he turned to him and said, “Why do you ask Pooping Dog?”

I find this joke especially fitting for our topic this year. As I look over our Bible character for this week, and some of the characters we will study in the weeks to come, I have to chuckle at some of their names.

I wonder if a similar discussion unfolded between Hagar and her parents, Abednego and his parents, and Euodias and her parents. All of these Biblical children grew up to be extraordinary characters in Biblical history. In fact, I believe, their given names had everything to do with their purpose in the Kingdom.

Hagar, for example, means “flight.” As we saw in Stacy’s devotion last week, Hagar fled shortly after she conceived a son with Abraham. “Then Sarai mistreated Hagar, so she fled from her.” Genesis 16:6.

The passage goes onto say, “The angel of the Lord said to her: ‘You are now with child and you will have a son. You shall name him Ishmael for the Lord has heard of your misery.’” Genesis 6:11. Guess what the name Ishmael means? “God will hear.”

There are also many characters throughout the Bible that God renames. Sarai meant “my princess,” but God renamed her Sarah to signify His promise that she would conceive a child. One commentary I read suggests that “my princess” confined Sarah to one family. But her name change to “princess” signified God’s favor upon her. She no longer belonged to one family, but humbly she became the ancestor of many nations.

We still see the importance of an individual’s name in many cultures today. Some are named after ancestors and relatives; others are named because of their religious or cultural heritage; and then there are those who are named by what their father sees when he exits the tepee. Joke or not, names are important and carry significant meaning in many cultures and families.

Do you know the meaning of your name? Do you know the story behind how your name was chosen? If not, I encourage you to find out. As I have researched this topic the past week, I have found that many names can be traced back to the Bible, and carry significant spiritual meaning. I believe that God continues to have a great influence on naming His people today. I know that sounds like a radical thought, but read Psalm 139 in its entirety.

“For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.” Psalm 139:13.

If our Creator knows the inmost things about us before we were even born, isn’t it possible that He carefully chose a name that’s fitting for us and our purpose in His Kingdom?

I’ve always been invisible. I mean, people see me, but they look only at what I can provide for them. They’ve never seen the real me, if such a thing even exists anymore. I’m simply known as the Egyptian maidservant.

Ah, one day someone noticed me. “Hagar,” Sarai breathed out. The sound of my name on someone else’s lips, not just “slave girl” or “hey you.” It’d been so long I faintly recognized the sound, but my elation quickly turned to fear after I heard my mistress’s plan. God promised her and her husband a son that would turn into a great nation, but in her old age her arms still longed to hold her offspring. She did the unthinkable and gave me to her husband in an attempt to fulfill God’s plan.

I can’t quite explain why I began to despise Sarai once my belly swelled with life. Her jealousy was obvious.  I feared she’d somehow ruin the one thing that made people take notice of me. My spite got to her and she mistreated me. I feared for my safety, but more than that, for the health of my unborn child. Without thinking, I set out in a sprint. I ran and ran until my legs could no longer carry me another inch. I dropped to the ground, ready to burst into tears yet again. Why? Why doesn’t anyone care about me? Does anyone hear me?

Nothing could have prepared me for what happened next. The angel of the Lord found me lying near that spring.

“Hagar, servant of Sarai, where have you come from, and where are you going?” Genesis 16:8

His words echoed to the marrow of my soul. He saw me. Knew my name.

The angel told me to return to my mistress and submit to her. Ouch. Not Sarai. But he buffered his command by telling me he would increase my descendants so that they will be too numerous to count (Genesis 16:9). And he told me something I already knew; that I was with child. What I didn’t know until that moment was that my child–a boy–would be named Ishmael: God hears.

Who am I that the Lord would talk to me, a mere maidservant? He saw me. The invisible one. He heard of my misery. And he met me. Before returning to Sarai, I gave a name to the Lord who spoke to me. Everything within me cried out, “You are the God who sees me. I have now seen the One who sees me.” (Genesis 16:13)

Have you been there? If we’re honest, haven’t we all felt at some point or another that we are invisible, or worse yet, that God doesn’t hear our cries or even see us? Whether it be beside a spring in the desert, in the emergency room waiting area or in line at King Soopers, I hope we, too, can recognize that God is the One who sees us.

“For the eyes of the LORD range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him.” 2 Chronicles 16:9