When we accept Jesus Christ as our savior, spiritually, we immediately become a different person from who we were before. That’s an important step in a lifelong walk of faith, but it’s just the first step in the journey. To reap the benefits of what God offers us, we need to develop confidence in all Jesus did for us on the cross. This confidence is built up by renewing our mind, hearing, confessing, and meditating on the word of God, praying regularly, and believing God’s love for us.
Many new believers have an intellectual knowledge of Christ, but still need to learn how to fully trust and rely on him. We’re now God’s children, but renewing our minds (Ephesians 4:23) helps us understand our new identity in Christ. Specifically, we must study and meditate on the Scriptures until our thinking begins to change. “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God” (Romans 12:2, NKJV). This can be compared to replacing old, incorrect, outdated software that controls our thought processes with new computer software that lines up with God’s word.
This transformation in our mental outlook is aided by regularly hearing the word preached, and deliberately confessing it over every situation in our lives. We’re greatly influenced by what we hear, so it’s important to hear the right things. “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (Romans 10:17). When we meditate on something long enough, we begin to believe it, and we eventually find ourselves saying it. There is great power in the spoken word! “Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof” (Proverbs 18:21).
A change like this, from the inside out is too much for us to handle alone; we need God to guide us every step of the way. A strong prayer life keeps us connected to him, and opens a two-way line of communication. Prayer is a conversation with God, and like every heartfelt conversation, he wants to answer us and give us the answers we seek. “Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and show thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not” (Jeremiah 33:3). It’s important to tune out the noise of the world and talk with him (1 Thessalonians 5:17).
Having faith in God’s love for us is what pulls everything together. If we don’t truly believe in it, we’re just going through the motions. His love is so great that he sacrificed his only son for us (John 3:16). He wants to share eternal life with us, the same post-resurrection life that Jesus has.
The more we believe God loves us, the more we will believe what he says to us. Spending time meditating on his word brings us to the point where we absolutely know that he loves us with an everlasting love, he’ll never leave us, and he wants the best for us. This realization reduces whatever issues we’re facing in life, and gives us the strength to overcome them. God is always bigger than the problem.