How Can Renewing Your Mind Lead to Real Financial Freedom?

Speaker A00:00:00

I want to start today by saying something that is absolutely true. And it's something you need to hear. Real financial freedom doesn't begin in your bank account. It begins in your mind.Before the budget changes, before the habits shift, before your numbers even improve, your thoughts are going to lead the way. Think about it. Fearful thoughts create pressure. Anxious thoughts create avoidance. Those shame filled thoughts created create paralysis.But truth filled thoughts, they create peace. So today we're slowing everything down for a reset. We're not going to pile on more to do's, we're not going to try to make it harder.But I want to help you think differently. Because when your mind changes, everything else follows. So here's the question we're answering today.How can renewing your mind lead to real financial freedom? And here's what you're going to take away with you today. Going to understand how God reshapes your thinking, not just your budget.And you're going to see why mindset comes before money habits. And you'll learn how to begin a gentle reset that brings lasting peace, not just temporary relief. Real deep peace. Hey friend. Ralph Estep Jr. Here.Welcome to the Financially Confident Christian where we learn how to walk through life and money with wisdom, with peace, and with a heart anchored in God's truth. My mission here is simple.I want to help you break that cycle of financial shame and build steady habits rooted in faith and become financially confident Christians. And I'm glad you're here today. Yesterday we talked about money and identity and about releasing that light at your worth lives in your wallet.And today we're going to bring it all together. Because when your identity is secure, your mind can finally rest. And when your mind is renewed, money begins to lose its power over you.Here's a question many people have asked me, sometimes out loud, sometimes just in their hearts. Ralph, why do I know the right things to do with money but I still feel stuck. Do you ever feel that way?You know, maybe you know you should budget, you know you should save. You know, spending less would help. But you still panic when bills come. You still avoid checking your balance.You still feel that knot in your stomach, that question, why do I know better but still feel stuck? It points us exactly where we need to look into your mind. Can I ask you something? Have you ever said to yourself, I know better but I still panic.Or maybe you've said, I understand budgets, but fear keeps winning. Friend, if that's you, you're not broken, you're not a failure. Your mind just needs renewal. And that's not a character flawless. That's a human need.So here's a truth I need you to hear. Behavior doesn't change first. Thinking does. If fear is living in your thoughts, it's going to leak into your decisions every single time.But when truth takes root in your mind, freedom follows. Now, it's not going to happen overnight, but faithfully.Because I've seen financial plans fail, not because the plan was bad, but because the mindset stayed the same. And I've also seen simple plans work beautifully once the person's thinking changed. See that renewal changes outcomes every single time.I once talked with someone who said, ralph, my numbers improved. I paid off debt, I started saving. But Ralph, my anxiety didn't go away. They realized something important. Yes, the habits had changed.They were starting to do the right things. They were saving. They were paying off debt. But their mind hadn't changed. They were still thinking the same fearful thoughts.They were still believing those same lies. And once scripture began shaping their thoughts, once they started replacing fear with truth, peace slowly returned.And not because the situation was perfect. It wasn't perfect. But because their mind was being renewed. So here's the heart of today's episode. What is shaping your thoughts about money?Is it fear? Is it shame? Is it comparison? Or is it truth? Because whatever is shaping your thoughts is also shaping your life and shaping your decisions.So let's reset this together. We're going to be slow, we're going to be gentle.Let's start by acknowledging that financial transformation starts internally, before those spreadsheets, before you build elaborate systems, before you go and buy those accountability apps. Financial transformation starts with your thought patterns, because what you think shapes what you do every single time.And we've got to do this because the world trains your mind towards fear. If you live in this world, the world all around you has been whispering lies into your mind for years.It whispers lies like this, you'll never have enough. No matter what you do, you're never going to have enough. Or this lie, everyone else is doing better than you. Just look around.They've all got it together and you don't. Or maybe it's saying to you, you're too far behind. You're never going to catch up. We live in scarcity. We live in comparison. We live in never enough.And those messages are loud. They're deafening. And they shape how you feel every time you think about money. But here's the good news.God's word retrains your thinking that truth can replace lies. Peace replaces panic. Slowly Faithfully. See, Scripture doesn't just give you rules. It renews your mind. Now, I need to be really honest with you.Renewing your mind is an incident. If you thought you're going to flip some switch and it just automatically My mind is renewed. It doesn't work that way. It's a process.It's a daily process. It's an hourly process. It's a decision by decision process of exposing your mind to truth.Because you've lived in these old patterns that have lied to you from the beginning. And you've got to replace those old patterns with new ones. Because, friend, that process works.And when it starts to work, here's what starts to happen. When your mind is being renewed, you're going to feel less urgency to spend. It's going to happen.You're going to feel less shame when you check your account. It's going to happen. You're going to have more clarity when making decisions. It's going to happen.And you're going to have more patience with yourself because your reactions change. And it's not because you're trying harder, but because you're thinking differently. When your mind is renewed, fear stops driving your spending.Fear stops controlling your savings. Fear stops making you avoid money altogether. And truth takes the lead. Truth becomes the beginning of that. And where truth leads, guess what follows?Freedom follows. And that's why today matters. Taking time to reset isn't about being more religious. That's not what we're talking about today.It's about a realignment. Kind of like when your car gets out of alignment, you take it to the mechanic and he straightens it out. That's what I'm talking about today.It quiets the noise. It reminds you who you trust. And it resets your mind so you can move forward with peace. The story you tell yourself about money.And I hear these stories every day. People say stories like, I'm bad with money. I'm just. That's not. I'm not good with money, Ralph. They tell stories like, I'll never get ahead.I've heard so many people say that to me in the last two weeks, Ralph, coming off of Christmas. I'm never going to get ahead, man. I didn't listen to you, Ralph. And I spent myself. I spent too much again.I got all this debt I'm never going to head. Or maybe they say this, and maybe you're thinking this right now. I always mess this up. Well, guess what happens. Those stories become your reality.But let me tell you right now, you can rewrite Those stories with God's truth, you don't need to spend hours a day renewing your mind. You just need small, steady moments. You need one verse, one truth, one redirect when fear creeps in. Because those moments will add up.And here's my promise to you today. When your mind is renewed, your money will follow. Not because you earn more. I'm not even talking about earnings today.We're going to talk about that tomorrow. But because you manage from peace, not panic, you move to peace, away from fear. And that right there is real financial freedom.Let's look at Romans chapter 12, verse 2. And I love this verse. I love the book of Romans. If you listen to me for any length of time. You know I love Romans, but this is Romans 12:2.Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed. See, that's the key right there. Be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Did you catch that word, transformed? It doesn't say to work harder.It doesn't say to try more. It says transformed. And how does that transformation happen? By the renewing of your mind. See, transformation doesn't start with effort.It starts with renewal. Here's today's practice. I want you to memorize Romans 12:2.I want you to write it down, say it out loud, put it somewhere where you're going to see it every single day. And then ask yourself this question. How does this verse apply to my money decisions? How does it apply to that? Just one verse.And let it work slowly in your heart. Don't rush it. Just let truth do what truth will do. Lord, thank you for renewing our minds. Transform the way we think about money.Replace fear with truth. Replace pressure with peace. And help us walk into freedom that comes from thinking your thoughts. And we ask this in Jesus name. Amen, friend.If you want help renewing your mindset around money, you're not meant to do it alone. The financially Covenant Christian community is a safe place to grow without judgment. It's not about shame.It's not about pretending, just real growth with real people.I want to encourage you to come join us at financiallyconfidentchristian.com/join financiallyconfidentchristian.com/join because you belong here, friend. This episode closes our Mindset Shift series, and I hope you've really enjoyed it.We've talked about stewardship, we've talked about identity, we've talked about renewing your mind. And these aren't just ideas. They're foundations for a life of financial peace. And tomorrow, I'm happy to say we're going to start something new.We're going to talk about how you can add income without losing your life to a side hustle. Got a lot of questions about this.And if today's message spoke to you, I want to encourage you right now, stop what you're doing and share this episode with someone who needs this reset, with someone who needs that renewal. Because this show is never about financial shame.It's about learning to walk in wisdom, staying financially savvy, and truly becoming a financially competent Christian. God bless you, friend, and I hope you join me again tomorrow.