From Bubba to Yahweh: The Power of a Name
Names. They tell you more than you think.
Depending on where you are, introductions sound different. In Alabama, you’ll get first and last name, often with a nickname—Bubba, Big Mike, Peanut. In New York, it’s usually just a first name, quick and deliberate. Step into a boardroom filled with CEOs, and you might hear the full string—first, middle, last—sometimes with a proud “the second” or “the third” attached.
There’s humor in this, but there’s also truth. Names are powerful.
Dale Carnegie once wrote that a person’s name is the sweetest sound to them. Why? Because it signals value. When someone remembers your name, you feel seen. You feel worth something.
A name carries a story. It ties you to a father and mother, to a place, to a history. It whispers of significance. And yet today, names often feel cheapened. We forget them quickly. We toss them around without thought. “I’m just bad at remembering names,” we say, as if that excuses the lack of care.
But what if names are meant to be more?
What if every name pointed us back to the Name—the one above every name? If our lives were rooted in the God who names us son, daughter, chosen, redeemed, then our earthly names would carry their true weight again.
Walk into a room knowing you are a son or daughter of the King of Kings, an heir of His throne, and watch what happens.
Singing the Name
Psalm 113 begins the “Hallel Psalms” (113–118), sung at Jewish festivals like Passover. These were not private hymns whispered in a corner. They were bold, joyful anthems sung at the table.
Can you imagine it? The smell of roasted lamb filling the home, the laughter of children, the hum of friends and family gathered together. No football in the background. No screens glowing in faces. Just voices—full, strong, harmonizing praises to the God they knew.
“From the rising of the sun to its setting, the name of the LORD is to be praised.” (Psalm 113:3)
When the psalmist says, “Praise the name of the LORD (Yahweh),” he’s not speaking in vague religious terms. He’s invoking the covenant God—the Yahweh who revealed Himself to Moses, who split the sea, who bound Himself to His people, who promised to dwell among them.
This isn’t made up theology. It’s personal. They were singing about the God whose Name meant deliverance, presence, and faithful love.
Never Finished Challenge: Names
God reveals Himself through His names. Each one carries intentional meaning. Each one opens a window into His heart.
Here’s your challenge:
Pick one name of God each week.
Sit with it. Read the verses where it appears. Reflect on the stories connected to it. Journal what it reveals about Him and about you.
As you do, watch how your understanding of Him deepens, and how your environment shifts when His name marks your life.
What Does Today Say About God?
Known.
God does not hide Himself to remain a mystery. He makes Himself known so that His people might know Him. And what is known doesn’t just change you. It awakens the world around you.
What a Father.
What a Friend.
What a King.
Thank You, Jesus.