Have you ever had The Lord say something to you and in the moment, you had no idea that it was Him that was speaking?
God does this to me a lot and so often, I love to credit His words to my wandering mind. Then later, He gives me revelation and insight on what He was doing in that moment. He shows me a glimpse into the battle that He was winning for me while I was too distracted to realize that He was doing anything at all. (Ephesians 6:12) Pay attention, because God moves a lot and He knows we won’t ever be able to match His pace- which is why He’s gracious enough to counteract our culture of achievement in playing “catchup” by revealing what He’s doing only when we actually take a moment to slow down and listen to what He has to say.
This morning, I felt that.
I was spending time with The Lord when He lead me to read Revelation 2:17.
Revelation 2:17
17 But the one whose heart is open let him listen carefully to what the Spirit is presently saying to all the churches. To everyone who is victorious I will let him feast on the hidden manna and give him a shining white stone. And written upon the white stone is inscribed his new name, known only to the one who receives it.
I read this verse and honestly, I didn’t have any sort of “Aha!” moment. I read it, appreciated it, and quickly moved on. A few moments later, I decided to listen to a podcast by Jonathon David Helser. It was called, “Your New Name”. As I was nearing the end of the podcast, I began to dose off in my Eno when something that he said caught my attention:
He started describing a dream that The Lord had given him:
He was running from a snake-turned-raccoon and found himself on a basketball court. The raccoon turned into a huge wolf, when The Father said to him, “You were made for this.” and pointed to a pile of white rocks on the basketball court. Like David and Goliath, Jonathon began to hurl white stones at the wolf- taking him out. Then The Father put His hand on His shoulder and said, “I told you that you could do this.” before finishing the wolf off. Then he woke up from his dream.
Jonathon started talking about how He processed the dream and The Lord showed him the meaning behind the white stone. He then read Revelation 2:17, the very same verse that The Lord had shown me just an hour before.
It was ancient custom that when a Roman trial concluded, the panel of judges would vote for the defendant’s innocence or guilt. The judges would register their votes by casting a black or white stone into an urn. A black stone symbolized a vote for guilt and a white stone denoted a vote for innocence. When all the votes had been cast, the stones were emptied from the urn and counted one by one. A white stone was given to those acquitted on trial and a black one to those who were guilty.
The white stone is freedom from the guilt of sin.
Therefore, when Christ offered “a white stone with a new name inscribed onto it” to overcomers, it meant: “You, My Child, are redeemed. You are no longer bound by guilt, fear, and shame.. You don’t need to look back at your mistakes and try to explain yourself.. You’re innocent. You’re restored. You’ve been adopted and have been given a new name. You’ve been named after your Father”
Don’t allow your feelings to overcome truth. Those people standing on trial probably “felt” like they were still guilty, even after they were acquitted. I’m sure they didn’t walk away without shame and guilt coming at them from all angles. It didn’t matter, though. When God says something, He means it. When HE says that He sees you as pure and blameless, it doesn’t matter what the rest of the jury says. It doesn’t matter what names have been spoken over you or how many people have hurled black stones your way. God’s Truth trumps all of the false truths that you have spent a lifetime believing.
The Lord constantly amazes me by the things that He speaks to us and will reiterate when we fail to listen the first time. I read that verse and chose to believe that there was no deep meaning behind it. Then, God was gracious enough to share it with me again. I needed that sweet reminder of how I’m made new in Christ and I’m writing this because maybe you needed to be reminded that you’ve been given a new identity, too.
Standing before an altar of broken stones, scuffed and dusty.
Heaps of deep greys and blacks are staring back at me.
Words written on each one, reminders of my brokenness and failures.
I soon realize that I’m staring at a dirty mirror and that I’m the broken altar.
Suddenly, something hits the mirror and it shatters before me.
A brand new mirror was sitting behind that old glass.
It’s a lot clearer and more true to color.
And all I see are stones of white.
Each one placed so intentionally, the most beautiful offering.
Each stone is given a new name.
And mine says Beloved.
