Names are so fascinating, aren’t they? They hold so much power. A name can shape who we are, how we’re seen, and sometimes even how we see ourselves. Society gives us a name at birth, almost like a label that we carry with us. And sometimes, over the years, that name changes. We pick up new names, nicknames, titles. But beyond all of that…do you know your name?
I think about mine—Tyler Joy Grant. And I think about the pieces that people have chosen to keep, to shorten, or to change. There’s TJ. Ty. Joy. Each name seems to hold its own space in my life, each one tied to a different part of me, a different role or memory. They’re little reflections of my journey, given to me by family, friends, and sometimes even by strangers.
It’s funny—I didn’t always think of myself as “Joy.” My mom’s name is Joi, and for most of my life, I saw it as hers alone. It was her name, her energy. I didn’t know it would ever feel like mine. But in recent years, people started calling me Joy, and it just…stuck. At first, I wondered if it was even “right,” especially with my mom so far away, across the country in Seattle, while I’m here in Daytona Beach. Would she think it’s strange, maybe even feel some sense of…loss? Like I was borrowing something sacred?
But then, I realized something. Maybe it’s not a loss but a reminder, a part of her that’s always with me. Every time someone calls me “Joy,” it feels like she’s close, like a whisper reminding me of home. It’s as if she’s here, even from miles away.
But there’s a name beyond all of these—the name God knows me by. The name He spoke over me before I was even born. The Bible tells us that He knew us before we were formed in our mother’s womb. Isn’t that incredible? We weren’t nameless, weren’t blank slates. God knew us, knew who we would become, even in our most vulnerable, hidden moments. And in that knowing, He called us.
When I think of Abraham, I think of someone whose name was changed by God Himself. He started as Abram, but God renamed him Abraham, meaning “father of many nations.” That name, that shift, was a promise, a calling, something far beyond what society could ever give him. His identity in God was wrapped up in that name, and through it, he stepped into his purpose.
So, as I sit here, thinking about all my names—Tyler, TJ, Ty, Joy—I’m reminded that each one holds meaning. But my truest identity comes from the name God has given me, the one He knew from the very start. The one that tells me who I am in Him, despite how society sees me or even how I see myself sometimes.
I don’t know what names you might have carried or how they’ve shaped you. But I believe that, in the quiet, in the still moments when you’re just…you, God whispers your true name. A name that holds purpose, love, and grace. So, do you know your name? Not the name the world gave you, or even the ones you’ve grown used to, but the one God knows you by?
I pray you find it. Because once you know that name, everything else falls into place.