You Don’t Have a Discipline Problem. It’s an Identity Problem

People of God, if your life is not changing, it's not because you are lacking the effort or you are lazy or you haven't been trying hard enough. It's because we have an identity problem. We don't know who we are in Christ. This is where the root of the issue is. You know, our thoughts, our actions, our words, what we allow, what we tolerate in our life is what shapes our lives. Our problem is that we have false beliefs about who we are, about God, about people, and these have not come out of nowhere. They have been created by our life experiences, and at the root of it is a lack of identity, a lack of knowing who we are in Christ, a lack of knowing who we have been created To be. And so all these false beliefs, these survival mechanisms, these patterns are there, and they shape our life because our thoughts become beliefs, our beliefs become actions, and our actions become behavior and patterns that we get stuck in, and we cannot seem to move forward. So If the root is our lack of identity and lack of knowing who we are in Christ, the solution is learning who we are in him, and that comes from being in his presence, being in the presence of God and rewiring our mind through the word and through what the truth says. Philippians 4:8-9 says, finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, Whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you. Because what we think matters. What we repeatedly think and focus on is what we begin to believe and what we begin to act out, and it's what shapes our reality. Proverbs 23:7 says, for as he thinks in his heart, so is he. And Proverbs 18:21 says, death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit. And Matthew 12:34 says, for out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks. So our words not only reveal our beliefs, but they reinforce it. And that's neuroscience. What we focus on, what we repeatedly think about, what we— our brain always focuses on is what wires, those neural pathways, and they become stronger and stronger until they become our default thinking. Romans 12:2 says, do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. So what you repeatedly do becomes your pattern, and your pattern becomes your way of life. So what we allow in our life, whether it's people, conversation, environments, what we watch on TV, the music we listen to, it becomes something that will guide, will direct our steps, because they either nurture something positive or they reinforce something negative. And this is not just biblical or spiritual, it's scientific, because our brains are shaped by repetition, and whatever we repeat and focus on becomes stronger and stronger and becomes just the way you default to. the thought patterns you default to. That's why some people are pessimistic and some are optimistic. People see the glass half full or half empty because of the way they think. So if we keep thinking that we're not good enough, we'll never make it, we'll never change, we'll always be this way, this is what our brain will build a strong network around, and it will do everything it can to reinforce that belief. Because our brain, you have to understand, our brain doesn't care about what we focus on. It doesn't have a moral compass. So whatever we focus on, it's what it looks for. It looks for proof in our daily life to strengthen that belief. So if we only think that we are going to fail, our brain is going to look for that evidence. But if we begin to think and see the goodness of God in our daily life, our brain will default to seeing God's goodness even in the little things. And we're not just seeing life, we are seeing what our brain has been trained to focus on. And when we speak those beliefs, we keep strengthening it. And that's why it is so hard to build new habits and break old ones, because we are strengthening those beliefs and our actions become our behavior. Even when we try to change the way we speak, the way we think, or our habits, We can't, because if we are still wounded, if those beliefs are still in us, we will end up producing the same fruit. So in order to change the fruit, we need to change the roots. As Matthew 7:18 says, a healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. So we need to change the roots so that the tree can change, and whatever comes out of us, whatever manifests in our life, will be changed as well. So how do we change all these things? Well, at the root, like I said, it's about our identity. Our identity is rooted in Christ and who He says we are. Being in His presence and filling our mind with His Word and the truth about who we are is what ultimately will change the fruits in our life. Knowing who we are, speaking out who we are, acting as if we are that, you know, like in take that thought captive, just as 2 Corinthians says. You take the thought captive, you analyze it. Is this a carnal thought. Is this from the Lord? Is this from the enemy? Is this true? Is this what the Word says? Is it— is this what God says about me? You take it captive, you examine it, you analyze it, and then you substitute it with what God says. Every time this negative thought comes, you rebuke it in the name of Jesus, because the enemy will come and he will try. But the Word says, resist him and he will flee from you. How does he come? He comes in our mind. That's where the battlefield is. In our mind, we have to change the way we think, the way we speak. We start— we have to start acting as if we already are that person. You know, the Lord kept telling Joshua to be strong and courageous, be strong and courageous, be strong and courageous. He was calling out his identity. He was calling him strong and courageous before he actually was or manifested as somebody who was strong and courageous, before he acted as a man who was strong and courageous. God was calling his identity out. This is actually called the Pygmalion effect, and it means that you rise to the expectations of what people think of you. God kept calling Joshua strong and courageous, and he rose to that expectation. Same with Esther. You know, when Mordecai said, if you do not stand up for your people, God will raise another redeemer, another person that will— Save the people, but you and your family will perish. You and your house will perish, and you will miss on the blessing. Basically, I believe that those words that Mordecai spoken to her when he said, "What if you were chosen for such a time as this?" He implanted that identity in her. You know, she realized I am not here just because I am pretty and I am submissive and I pleased the king. I am here because God has chosen me to be here. So she rose after fasting. And praying for 3 days, that gave her strength to rise into that identity, into that calling. And she looked the part. She dressed herself as the queen. She was terrified, as we know, because if you presented yourself in front of the king without being summoned, you could die. But she rose to the occasion. She embodied her identity. She embodied Queen Esther, the redeemer of the people. Okay, and she walked towards the king and he extended his scepter. Her identity called forth the way she acted, and the Lord gave her favor. And this is what happens if we rise to the occasion. If we know who we are called to be, we begin walking in it, even if we don't believe it. We begin to act as if we already are that person that God has called us to be. And then we will begin to think differently, act differently, behave differently, speak differently, and everything else in our life will align with what the Lord says about us. It's all about becoming, embodying who God has called you to be and aligning with the truth. So people of God, I pray that you will begin to walk in your identity and your calling, and that your life will change, the fruits that your life will manifest everything that the Lord says about you as you begin to walk in your calling, in your identity. And if you like this content, please follow, like, and share. And if you would like to work with me, you can email me, contact me through my website, through Instagram, or Facebook at The Shift Her. Stay rooted, stay joyful, and keep rewiring your mind for the purpose God created you for.