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Identity Crisis

“God said to me,
‘If an apple tree dies before it has produced apples, what do you call it?
It is still an apple tree.
So if I say you’re powerful—if you’ve never done acts of power, does that mean you’re not powerful?’

That’s what helped me to begin to believe, was to realize, ‘Oh, I need to get my identity from what I was created to be, not from what I’ve become.’

I had four years of being told that I was supposed to write. And I’m like, ‘I can’t write a book. I’ve never done that before.’

But I was making declarations: ‘I write books, I write books,’ and still, a couple years went by, and He said, ‘I want you to change that.’ And I’m like, ‘What do you mean?’ And He goes, ‘I want you to start declaring you’re an author.’

And I argued, ‘I am declaring what I want to do.’ And He said, ‘No, I want you to declare what you are.’ And He said, ‘If you die before you write a book, in heaven, you’ll be known as an author—that didn’t produce what you were created to do.’”
— Wendy Backlund

Most of us don’t have an effort problem. We have an identity problem.

We keep asking outcomes for permission: “Once I do it, then I’ll be it.”
But Scripture flips the order: God names what you are before you have evidence. An apple tree is an apple tree before apples ever show up.

That’s exactly what happened with Abraham. God called him “father of many nations” while his arms were still empty—calling things that were not as though they were (Romans 4:17). God wasn’t playing pretend. He was establishing an identity that would reshape behavior.

When you believe what God calls you, you start living like it’s true. And living like it’s true changes what you feed, what you starve, what you practice, and what you refuse to tolerate.

If you keep waiting for fruit to prove the tree, you can die with a calling you never fulfill or enjoy.

Let's make it practical:
Write one sentence that starts with “I am…” aligned with God’s Word (not your emotions), then take one small action today that a person with that identity would take.
Not someday. Today.

Now bring it home where the fight actually is:
If you’re in Christ, your struggle is real—but your old identity is not.
Stop thinking, “I’m going to struggle with this.” That’s not humility. That’s unbelief wearing a church hat.

Core declarations (start here):

A Hard Truth

If you don’t believe God’s Word because you don’t feel it yet, you’ve quietly made your feelings lord and asked Jesus to wait outside until your emotions vote Him in.

This is not about "name it and claim it" faith that declares what you want and seeks to manifest your desires in the world. That is presumptuous carnality. Far from it, this is about standing on what God has already declared to be true—even before you accept and believe it to be true. I am calling for us to recognize God's truth about us and to declare to ourselves and the world that we choose to walk in that truth.

Declaration:
“Lord, I agree with Your Word about me—
over my feelings, my history, and my habits.”

Do you dare to believe?