In my practice, I counsel brain retrainers using self-guided neuroplasticity to heal from a myriad of physical and psychological symptoms. One of the most important ingredients to success is understanding your identity in Christ so that you can effectively change your future.

In case you missed it, check out Part 1 of this blog series where we talk more in depth about identifying God’s spirit in you.

Now let’s explore what it means to live out these truths for real.

Put on your identity in Christ

It's one thing to intellectually understand you have a new identity in Christ, and it’s another to plant these truths into your core being. So how do you actually walk this out?

Before I give some practical direction, please be advised that while the process isn’t instantaneous, it’s an adventure well worth taking! And truly, wiring in your new identity is only only possible by marinating in God’s love for you. Without the love of God and the Holy Spirit, this journey merely becomes an academic exercise (the Bible calls it dead works), and it’ll feel forced, like a lot of work you have to do. Or like nails on a chalkboard. Ick.

So here are some tips on how to be fruitful in growing in your identity in Christ:

Connect with God

Spending time with your Heavenly Dad is essential to planting His love in your heart. For many, these experiences can evoke a great sense of peace, love and wellbeing. But please know that it’s okay if you don’t always feel God’s warm fuzzies every time or even much at all when you start. Over time, basking in His presence will become easier and those good feelings will manifest. But it will never feel like you are always just basking in His presence (although that’s still my goal and it keeps getting better!).

During your healing journey, your heart may feel like a rock. Please be patient and give yourself grace. There is NOTHING wrong with you, and God breaks all our chains and prison walls or else He would cease to be God!

If connecting to God feels difficult right now, here’s some extra advice. In your mind, step back and connect to a moment when you first gave your heart to Jesus. Or find another special moment when you felt His presence, like a baptism or marriage ceremony. Remind yourself of that beautiful occasion when you felt seen, forgiven and loved. If that doesn’t work for you, reflect on the historical facts surrounding the death, burial and resurrection of Christ—the reality that this Man actually chose to suffer for you. Ask yourself how this affects you today? Start to picture Him willfully putting himself on the cross with your restoration, healing and transformation at the forefront of His mind.

Read and believe God’s Word

The Bible is full of wonderful promises God says about you. Write a list and speak them out. Proclaiming the Word out loud gives it even more power. God says you’re beautiful, holy, chosen, righteous, enough, special, and on and on. I know that can be hard, especially if your previous identity was rooted in other junk. But everything God says about you is true.

On the flip side, pay attention to what you say and think about yourself that’s negative or fault-finding. Years of suffering with chronic illness can bring even the most secure and joyful person to a place where they feel worthless, useless and critical—that is my story! Take hold of these fallacies, write them down (and even burn or flush them away) and question how you came to believe these lies. By doing so, you’re allowing your positive confessions to outweigh the negative. You’re trusting God and not your experience!

Embrace the good, release the negative

God says you’re beautiful, holy and worthy. But He also made you special with individual gifts, and He loves that about you. His relationship with you is one-of-a-kind because each one of us is unique, a unicron, a pearl of great price, an irreplaceable treasure. He has a picture of you (and me!) in his wallet—not just a picture of Jesus. So while you are identical to Jesus because of His Spirit joined with yours, the complementary truth is that you cannot be replicated! God sees YOU. Read and meditate on Psalm 139 to get even more acquainted with this truth.

Your unique experiences here on earth have influenced how you interact with the world, learning how to relate to it to stay safe, be loved, feel happy and cultivate health. Repeated behaviour became a mood and repeated moods became your disposition and the personality you have now. Illness can become an identity that sticks to us like sticky fly paper!

Everyone's had bad experiences that have helped shape us over the long term. And anyone who’s lived long enough has some form of trauma to overcome. But you are not stuck with some of these so-called personality traits due to suffering. (And yes, illness alone can be a trauma.) You’re not a victim to what’s happened in your life, your genes or even just the feelings you’ve always known. So now it’s time to put Jesus into the equation. When you separate your behaviour from your identity in Christ, it gives space for God to breathe His truth into who you really are. And it’s soooo much better than you could ever imagine!

Seriously, I am living proof that beliefs and attitudes can be completely flipped upside down! My attitude grew increasingly insecure, impatient, unknowingly judgmental and critical over the years. Blaming my situation on others was my go-to. And in some ways, blaming feels valid because chronic, intense physical and emotional discomfort keeps you from living the full life you want to have. And the battle gets tiring. Eventually, your mood and disposition turns from sunny to dark. That’s certainly my story! Thankfully the Holy Spirit showed me the truth that this negative behaviour was not my true identity.

Visualise with Jesus

Lastly, implant this identity as a new creation in Jesus into your soul. During your brain retraining meditations or “rounds”, invite the Holy Spirit into your session. Imagine yourself sitting at your Daddy’s feet, opening the gift of the Spirit and receiving love from your Father.

Unconditional love (aka Jesus) always invites us deeper to discover the truth of who we are in Him. Put this love into your visualisations. Envision your amazing future and see yourself as God sees you: adored and loved.

If connecting to these feelings is difficult, try watching some feel-good movies to help stimulate your imagination. Steal from these examples. Look at other people’s relationships and observe love and adoration and begin to imagine yourself being the object of affection. Hallmark movies were great for me because I am the bride of Christ (haha), and so are you. Claim confidence in this new identity. And as you move spirit-born emotions through your body, believe that’s the Holy Spirit working inside of you—because it is!

Helping others find the deep healing only God can provide gets me all kinds of giddy. But sometimes it can be hard to connect all the dots to achieve your healing goals. Whether you’re just getting started on your journey or you’ve been at this for a while, I’d love to come alongside you. Check out my coaching packages or reach out to learn more.

Reflect

What amazing and glorious destiny can you imagine for yourself?

If God gave you a new name, what would it be?

Worship

Look What You’ve Done by Tasha Layton

Changed by Jordan Feliz

Graves into Gardens by Elevation Worship

Key Scripture

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: the old has gone, the new is here!”

2 Corinthians 5:17

Are Limiting Beliefs Holding You Back? (Part 2)