Twenty-five years ago, I was working as a delivery truck driver on a summer job. I was studying for a bachelor’s in philosophy at the time, so I desperately needed the income to pay my tuition. I enjoyed working as a delivery truck driver, and I got along with all of my colleagues except for this one guy. Everything I said and everything I did was picked on by him, and at one point, it got so bad I contemplated not showing up for work the next day.
I needed the income, so quitting was not an option, but at the same time, I felt so bullied I did not have it in me to continue working there. The only thing that made it possible for me to fulfill my contract was my parent’s reputation.
My parents were not the best parents you could have, but I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt they would stick up for me and encourage me not to back down and not let this guy win. I never told them what happened to me, and they never knew because they lived on the other side of the country. So how could their reputation help me to overcome being bullied at work?
Because I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt they loved me and would stick up for me, encouraging me not to back down and let this guy win, I used that knowledge to gain the strength I needed to fulfill my contract. Every morning while I was on my way to work, I would several times be so filled with fear that I contemplated taking the next bus back home. When that happened, I counteracted my fear by thinking about what my parents would have said if they knew what happened to me. In my mind, I heard my father and mother telling me how proud they were of me, how much they loved me, and how they told me time and time again I should not back down and not let him win. And because I knew this is what they would have said to me, if they knew about the situation, my imagination became my reality. It felt as if they were there with me on the bus on my way to work encouraging me and giving me the strength I needed to face that guy and fulfill my contract.
So I did not back down, and I did not let him win. I never showed him how fearful I was, how scared I was a time, and in the end, he stopped bullying me. We never became friends, and I rejoiced the day I was able to leave that company, knowing I had fulfilled my contract and knowing I had not allowed him to win.
The key to my victory was knowing my parents’ reputation.
In the Bible, in Psalm 91, God gives us a definite promise. He says because we know His name, He will protect us and deliver us. Psalm 91 is not the only place in the Bible with a promise connected to knowing God’s name. There are several places in the Bible where God promises us healing, provision, protection, security as long as we know His name.
When the Bible speaks about the name, it is always referring to either the actual name or the character and reputation of that individual. So when God in Psalm 91 says those who know my name will be protected and delivered, it is talking about both knowing the actual name and knowing His reputation.
The Bible says the name of our Father in heaven is Yehovah; this was the name He gave to Moses at the burning bush when He said this is my name for all generations. Later on, in the Bible, His reputation gets connected to His name; we find Him as Yehovah Yireh (Yehovah, our provider), Yehovah Rapha (Yehovah, our healer) and many other names describing His reputation.
When the Bible in Psalm 91 says those who know His name will be protected and delivered, it is speaking about knowing His actual name and knowing His reputation. If you need provision right now, I am here to tell you His name is Yehovah, your provider. If you need healing right now, I am here to tell you His name is Yehovah, your healer.
Do you know His name and His reputation? Now you know, and the Bible says, if you do what I did back then on the bus, on my to work, you will have to decide to focus your thoughts on the name of Yehovah and whatever you need from Him right now. If you need healing, focus your thoughts and your mind on Him as Yehovah, my healer. If you need provision, focus your thoughts and your mind on Him as Yehovah, my provider. Allow your imagination to meditate on Yehovah, your healer, Yehovah, your provider, and you will soon see how imagination and faith become a reality. Soon you will see how Yehovah, your healer heals you, how Yehovah, your provider, suddenly makes way for your bills to be paid.
All of this does not come by itself, and sometimes it will get hard. When I was on that bus, I had to fight my fear every day and make up my mind to focus on my parent’s reputation and allowing my faith in them to become my reality. Because I fought the good fight of faith, I was able to come into work and fulfill my contract.
You have to fight your circumstances and make up your mind not to focus on your lack, your disease, your physical pains. You have to walk by faith and not by sight by choosing to fight what you see with your eyes, what you feel in your body, and instead focusing on what you know that Yehovah is your healer and He is healing you right now. Yehovah is your provider, and He is making way for you to pay your debt right now.
Then your imagination will become your reality, and you will be healed, delivered provided for says the BIble in Psalm 91.