As a man thinks in his heart, so is he.
—Proverbs 23:7
The way you think determines who you believe you are. If you want to believe who you are in Christ, you must allow the Word to positively change the way you think and see yourself. You are new in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17). To know the new person Christ has made you, you have to see yourself as God sees you. And to experience the new person Christ has made you, you choose to have a positive attitude about who God says you are.
God sees His Son in you, but you know your shortcomings. To see yourself as the new person God sees you, you learn who He says you are and choose to believe it in your heart. Learning who you are in Christ changes the way you see yourself until you start to believe the truth of what God says about you in His Word. And that change manifests itself in the way you live your life.
God is not going to make you have good thoughts miraculously. You choose to think about “whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report” (Philippians 4:8a, NKJV).
“If there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things,” Paul declares (Philippians 4:8b, NKJV).
If you think a positive attitude will happen quickly, you will be disappointed. You must meditate long and hard to change your thought process permanently. This happens through renewing your mind with the revelation power of the Word of God (Romans 12:2-3). The Word that God speaks is Spirit and life. And it is the Holy Spirit who gives life to the Word (John 6:63) and life-changing power to you.
Meditating on the Word of God and allowing its truth to change the way you think, is the answer to changing your attitude. Over time, the renewing of your mind by the Word will change your attitude (Romans 12:2). You will live from what you believe instead of what you feel. You will allow the truth of God’s Word to reveal who you are instead of believing what the old person you were or anyone else says about you.
“Death and life are in the power of the tongue” (Proverbs 18:21, NKJV). You have the power to speak either death or life. “Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks” (Matthew 12:34, NKJV). You speak what you believe in your heart—either what is negative and destructive or what is positive and life-changing.
You are new in Christ. All things are new. Do you want to believe in the goodness of God’s love for you? Do you yearn to believe by faith in His promise that you haven’t yet seen or experienced?
God’s truth first transforms your mind and the way you think. Then it becomes what you believe in your heart. According to the way you think, you speak what you believe. When you speak what God says out of the abundance of your heart, you speak the power of His life into your life. You believe no matter what the old person you were says or anyone else says. You believe God’s truth is what is real—His promises are already yours—His abundance flows through you into the lives of others—and that His inherent goodness is manifested in your life.
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new” (2 Corinthians 5:17, NKJV).
What do you think in your heart? You are new in Christ. Your old man is dead. Do you know who you are?
© 2022 Lynn Lacher
www.lynnlacher.com/2022/06/know-who-you-are.html
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