Still labeling yourself by past mistakes or family baggage? In Christ, “the old has gone, the new has come” (2 Cor 5:17). You are not “just that way” anymore—God rewrote your story the moment you trusted Him.

Key Reflections

• New Creation, New Identity – Gal 2:20 says your old self was crucified; Christ now lives in you.

• Let God Define You – Scripture, not your past, assigns your worth. (See Eph 1.)

• Capture Toxic Thoughts – Take every thought captive (2 Cor 10:5) and replace lies with truth.

• Progress Requires Renewal – Daily renew your mind (Rom 12:2) to walk in who you already are.

Join the Conversation

What negative label do you need to lock up today? How are you choosing to see yourself through God’s Word instead of past mistakes? Share your thoughts with us on Instagram using #LifeaudioNetwork—let’s encourage one another to live as new creations!

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Full Transcript Below:

Stop Believing You Can’t Change 

by Cindi McMenamin, Crosswalk Contributing Writer

If anyone is in Christ, this person is a new creation; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come. (2 Corinthians 5:17 NASB)

Are you letting your past mistakes define you? And are you believing that you will always be a certain way?

I will admit it that I’ve found myself saying, at times, “That’s just the way I am.” But I realize now how pathetic that sounds. It’s another way I let this culture’s message to “Do you” and “Express your individuality” excuse my failure to grow spiritually. 

Maybe, like me, you’ve found yourself saying things like:

• "I have control issues. That's just the way I am." 
• "I am an adult child of an alcoholic and I struggle with certain dysfunctional behavior. That’s just the way I am." 
• "Because of what I’ve been through in my past, I’ll always be insecure. I'm just that way." 
• "I will never trust another person. That’s just the way I am.”
• “Sorry I got so defensive. You should know I’m just that way.”

A sure sign that we are stuck from pain in our past is when we excuse our behavior by saying “That’s just the way I am.” Or, when we continue to believe that we can never grow beyond a certain place, emotionally or spiritually. 

A crucial step to healing and wholeness is to renew your mind to think differently. If you have a relationship with God, the old you that was “just that way” is gone. And the new you is now “just like Him.”

In Galatians 2:20, the apostle Paul gave us a goal, perspective, and motto for our old selves. He wrote: "I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” And the song of our new identity is found in Second Corinthians 5:17: “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!”

Intersecting Faith and Life 

So why are we not living like new, regenerated creatures? In my experience, I've found that it's easy to go back to the old way of thinking if I'm not making a conscious effort to remember who I really am (because of my regeneration in Christ), and to redirect my thoughts. 

You can renew your mind and receive your new identity—the one that is just like Him—when you do these two things:

1. Let God define who you are. This happens when you read and begin to understand the Scriptures. Let God define who you are—not your parents, your past, a teacher from long ago, a friend who used to criticize you, a boyfriend or husband who walked out on you, a therapist’s diagnosis, or a boss who thought you weren’t capable of much. The more you read in the Bible of God's heart for you, the more you will begin to see yourself as a regenerated, transformed child of His and act like it. Discover in God’s Word not only how He sees you, but how to start living like His child.  
2. Lock up the negative thoughts. In order to let God—and not the voices in your head—define you, you must learn to bring “every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:5). When you hear negative thoughts from your head defining you, capture them instead of letting them run loose. Be determined to only hear the thoughts that are obedient to God, the thoughts that are consistent with His Word’s description of you. Tune your ear to hear the thoughts of God's that say “I have loved you with an everlasting love…” (Jeremiah 31:3); “I have called you friends” (John 15:15); and "Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind" (Romans 12:2). 

Who are you really when you are in Christ? Renew your mind—and receive your new identity—with the beautiful descriptions of you found in God’s Word. And walk with your head higher, focused on the fact that you are not just that way. You are, instead, just like your Heavenly Father.

Lord, my own labels–and those that others have given me—are much harsher and critical than the loving labels You have given me in Your trustworthy Word. Help me to see myself as You see me—redeemed and renewed.

Further Reading: Ephesians 1

For more on living according to your true identity, see Cindi’s book, When a Woman Overcomes Life’s Hurts.

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