“As she breathed her last-for she was dying-she named her
son Ben-Oni.” (Genesis 35:18)
When Rachel gave birth to Benjamin, at first she named him
Ben-Oni, which means “the son of my sorrow.” Later on in
the same verse, Jacob named him “Benjamin,” which means
“the son of the right hand.” When Rachel named her son
“Ben-Oni” she wasn’t wrong because that’s what it was but
Jacob said out of Ben-Oni comes Benjamin. He refused to
name this child’s destiny according to a moment in the
child’s history! Nobody was and is stronger than Jesus; Isaiah
describes him and says, “He was a man of sorrows
acquainted with grief.” It was the sorrow of his crucifixion
that produced the power and strength of his resurrection.
Strength always comes from sorrow and sorrow produces
Strength. Your Sorrow today can become your strength for
tomorrow. People in life may recommend a certain name for
you but only your Heavenly Father gets to sign off on it and
approve it because fathers have naming rights. Some of you
might have been labeled by somebody and called
something based on something that you went through but
unless you make something, you don’t get to name it; only
the maker has naming rights. Life isn’t always easy, school
might be hard, you might not find a good job, and
everything seems frustrating…
You can call it what it IS and it will become
what it WAS, or You Can Call It “What You
Want!” You have naming rights over any
situation that comes in your life; sometimes
you can change the situation. When you can
change it, do it! When Rachel died and there
was sorrow he couldn’t change the situation
and he couldn’t bring her back so he
changed the Name! Rename your problem
with a praise!
SCC Youth Member
