"In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it. The Lord gave Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand, along with some of the vessels of the house of God; and he brought them to the land of Shinar, to the house of his god, and he brought the vessels into the treasury of his god. Then the king ordered Ashpenaz, the chief of his officials, to bring in some of the sons of Israel, including some of the royal family and of the nobles, youths in whom was no defect, who were good-looking, showing intelligence in every branch of wisdom, endowed with understanding and discerning knowledge, and who had ability for serving in the king's palace; and he ordered him to teach them the literature and language of the Chaldeans. The king appointed for them a daily ration from the king's choice food and from the wine which he drank, and appointed that they should be educated three years, at the end of which they were to enter the king's personal service. Now among them from the sons of Judah were Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah. Then the commander of the officials assigned new names to them; and to Daniel he assigned the name Belteshazzar, to Hananiah Shadrach, to Mishael Meshach and to Azariah Abed-nego."
— Daniel 1:1–7 (NASB 1995)
Daniel → Belteshazzar
• "May a Babylonian god protect his life"
Hananiah → Shadrach
• "I am fearful of God"
Mishael → Meshach
• "I am despised and humiliated"
Azariah → Abed-nego
• "Servant of a Babylonian god"
The names you let stick become the stories you live by.
Who gets to name you?
Loud doesn't mean first. Persistent doesn't mean true.
They could rename him. They could never re-identify him.
Drift doesn't announce itself. It doesn't send you a calendar invite.
"I do not ask You to take them out of the world, but to keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world." — John 17:15–16 (NASB 1995)
The world isn't usually trying to break you. It's trying to brand you.
In the world. Not of the world. That's the assignment.
Babylon can change your name. It can't change who you are — unless you let it.
