Mensa Otabil - What You Call It Is What It Is (09/29/2025)
We’re still in the book of Genesis, chapter 2, and this is verse 19: «Out of the ground, the Lord God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the air and brought them to Adam to see what he would call them. And whatever Adam called each living creature, that was its name.» God placed Adam in the garden to cultivate and protect it. Moreover, God made him aware of what was freely available for him to eat.
Now He’s introducing Adam to another aspect of his job. God created the animals, but He didn’t name them; He left that responsibility to Adam. The passage states that the Lord brought these animals to Adam and gave him the mandate to name them, and whatever name he called them was how they would be called. So, if Adam called an animal «ugly,» that was the tag the animal would carry for the rest of its life. If he called an animal «beautiful,» that became the tag for that animal as well. The names we give to the things God brings our way establish our relationship with them.
For example, if God brought a lion to Adam and Adam called it «my killer,» he established a relationship with that animal that made him prey and the lion a predator. But Adam could also call the lion «my friend,» and from that time on, that would be the basis of their relationship. What do we learn from this? God has given us the power to name the things that come our way. Sometimes things come our way, and we say, «Oh, this thing will kill me!» or «This thing will destroy me! I don’t think I will ever overcome this; I think I’m dead.» When you call those situations in your life by those names, you empower them to act that way towards you. Therefore, we have to call things differently.
When you look through the Bible, God used the same principle. He looked at Abraham, who had no child, and He called him «the father of many nations.» He could have called him «childless»; he could have called him «non-productive,» but He called him «the father of many nations.» God is interested in how we address the things we go through. So, learning from Adam, look at the things that come your way. Life will bring you all kinds of circumstances, and some are not very pleasant and some are not very palatable. But you have to call them by the name you want them to be in your life because He said to Adam, «Whatever you call it, that is what its name will be.»
That’s why God calls you «blessed» and «highly favored.» He calls you «on top» and not «beneath.» He calls you «the head» and not «the tail.» He calls you «an overcomer»; He calls you «more than a conqueror.» He calls you «a king»; He calls you «an abundantly blessed person,» «a watered garden.» He calls you that. Doesn’t He know that you have parts of you that are not nice? Yet, He calls you by the name He wants you to become, and you conform to the name that God wants you to be.
May the Lord bless you; may He increase you; may He favor you; and may you enter the coming week with the joy of the Lord and the victory that only comes through Jesus Christ. Let us pray. Say with me, «Heavenly Father, help me to call the things You bring my way as You want them to be called. I call myself blessed and highly favored in Jesus' name. Amen.» Well, my friends, I will be with you again tomorrow. I’m Pastor Mensa Otabil. Shalom, peace, and life to you.