And the word of the Lord came to me: “Son of man, when a land sins against me by acting faithlessly, and I stretch out my hand against it and break its supplyof bread and send famine upon it, and cut off from it man and beast, even if these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, they would deliver but their own lives by their righteousness, declares the Lord God…even if Noah, Daniel, and Job were in it, as I live, declares the Lord GOD, they would deliver neither son nor daughter. They would deliver but their own lives by their righteousness. – Ezekiel 14:12-14,20 ESV

Warrior;

Consider this is a WORD from GOD the FATHER. Elohim is letting Ezekiel know how disappointed He is in His priests.  They are fake, they have idols of men in their heart.  It is Mammon. Mammon is IDENTITY rooted in external validation. Mammon is worship of what the world values. God wanted them to know through his prophet that He has lost his longsuffering, if this continues, even the most righteous can not save these people, this land.  God picks three as examples of Righteousness. Two of the three are legends, but one is a mere mortal among them. Job is famous, his suffering and his steadfastness for the Lord, is known throughout the world.  “The Patience of Job” has been said by many people in many nations and in many tongues for a couple millennia. It is in the book of Job that we read, “And the LORD said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, who fears God and turns away from evil?” (Job 1:8) Did you get that? Job was so righteous that God believed in Him.  God said, I believe in Job.  Consider Noah. “When everything was ready, the LORD said to Noah, “Go into the boat with all your family, for among all the people of the earth, I can see that you alone are righteous.” (Genesis 7:1)   Noah, is another Adam.  God started all over again with Noah- we are all sons and daughters of Noah. “Behold, I now establish My covenant with you and your descendants after you, The sons of Noah who came out of the ark were Shem, Ham, and Japheth. And Ham was the father of Canaan. These three were the sons of Noah, and from them the whole earth was populated.” (Genesis 9:9, 18-19) Any good Jew knew the legend of those 2 men.  However, Daniel was a contemporary of Ezekiel; He lived in the same time frame.  Daniels Righteousness was so known that in his lifetime he was renowned for it.  For Daniel, “His reputation precedes him”! What was Daniel’s secret? How was Daniel able to live so righteously? We read the first chapter of his eponymous book; But Daniel made up his mind that he would not defile himself with the king’s food or wine. So he asked the chief official for permission not to defile himself. (Daniel 1:8)

Leader, why was Daniel able to demonstrate such righteousness in such difficult circumstances?  It was because of his Identity, and His awareness in that Identity.  Identity precedes behavior, and it is tied to behavior.  When we know Who we are, then what to do is easier. Identity is crucial because it functions as an internal answer to the question, “Who am I?”, and that answer quietly organizes what a person believes is possible, permissible, valuable, and worth doing. In the Hebrew text, Daniel is given one of the most intimate titles in all Scripture: ḥamudôt. It means; deeply treasured, precious one, highly esteemed; greatly BELOVED. The title of BELOVED appears three times in the final vision cycle of Daniel.  Daniel 9:23 says, “You are greatly beloved”. Daniel 10:11,19 both say the same thing GREATLY BELOVED! Daniel is the only prophet in the entire Old Testament explicitly called “beloved” by heaven multiple times. This is not sentiment. It is identity language. Hear the Word of the Lord; So, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. (Colossians 3;12) Notice the pattern, IDENTITY first. BEHAVIOR second. For the believer, “beloved” is not merely an encouraging adjective. It is a received identity: loved by God before achievement, performance, usefulness, or public recognition. When that identity becomes deeply trusted, it can reorder beliefs, capabilities, behaviors, impact, and legacy.

Conduit, when you know WHO you are, then WHAT TO DO is simpler. However, when we know WHOSE we are, then that IDENTITY supercharges our behavior. When we STEP INTO our identity in CHRIST, everything changes- including the meaning of the struggle. A person who says, “I am fundamentally defective”, may interpret correction as condemnation, risk as danger, and failure as proof of worthlessness. A person rooted in, “I am beloved by God,” can receive correction without being destroyed by it, attempt difficult work without needing success to secure worth, and repent without collapsing into shame. My good friend and pastor Rich Van Proyen wrote a great book titled, ‘Beloved’.  He says, “Beloved is not a feeling. Beloved is a name. The Father loved you, beloved, before you did anything. You cannot earn a passive verb. The work is not the condition of being beloved. The work is the response to being beloved”. The opposite of ‘beloved’ is not merely feeling unloved. It is living from an identity of earning, proving, performing, hiding, or self-protection. It is a narrative that is based on performance. When we have a BELOVED identity by, and from God this changes the narrative. Things sound different internally; “I am loved; therefore, I do not have to perform for worth… I am secure in God; therefore, I can tell the truth about my weakness… I can act courageously because faithfulness, not applause, is my measure”. Identity is not merely what I call myself; it is the governing story through which I interpret God, myself, other people, opportunity, failure, suffering, and success. Identity gives beliefs their meaning; beliefs guide capabilities; capabilities shape behavior; behavior creates impact; and repeated impact becomes legacy. This is why identity precedes behavior. Today, you are beloved and IN CHRIST! STEP INTO your new identity BELOVED and watch what happens!