Why the Name New Haven?
By Hank Marion
I had been praying for six or more months asking the Lord what He wanted us to call ourselves once we relocated. The Lord had been silent on the subject. Needing some time away Marilyn and I scheduled a cruise. We had never been on one before but had heard from trusted friends it was a relaxing time away from computers and cell phones. We were looking forward to resting with a good book while lounging around the pool.
As we drove to the pier to board the ship we were in prayer. We had several things we were hoping to hear from the Lord about and we shared our heart with the Lord before boarding. Our trip was very nice, very relaxing and more than we had expected. The Lord was speaking but not about what we were to be called after relocating.
As I woke the last day of our cruise I heard the Lord say, “New Haven". I knew He was talking about our congregation and the new name we should be called. I thought about it through breakfast and to say I did not like the name is putting it mildly. I felt it had connotations of retreat and shelter that were contrary to my warrior spirit. As I sat waiting to disembark, stewing about what the Lord had spoken to me I looked up “haven" in the scripture to see if it was even in the Bible. Well it was and I made my way to Psalms 107: 23-30.
To my surprise, I had been praying this passage in Intercessory Worship for the past months. As I read the passage it described our life over the past year. The scripture then reads that He guided them to their desired haven. Revelation began to come. I saw a ship in full sail, sailing on the sea. It turned and I saw the stern of the ship, its name was Destiny and its port read New Haven.
Then the Lord spoke. Every person is like a ship, they go out into the world (on the sea) to do business. Some are Teachers, others businessmen, others are in car repair, etc. But we all need a port where we get the supplies that will sustain us and help us to be successful while we are on the sea fulfilling our destiny. That place is New Haven…Our New Haven in Christ.
My eyes began to tear and from my heart I repented. God is always good, always right and always faithful.
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