4 Ways to Break the Code in Your Own Life
- Hannah
- Jul 28
- 5 min read
Updated: Aug 4
You’re Not Broken—You’re Running Old Code You Didn’t Choose.
The problem isn’t you - it’s the programming
Sometimes the problem isn’t you—it’s the programming. The way you respond. The way you retreat.
The loop you keep finding yourself in. It’s not a flaw in your character—it’s a function of the code you’ve inherited, absorbed, or been handed.
But what if that code isn’t the truth?
In this post, we’ll explore four new ways to look at the hard moments:
Maybe the struggle is a signal, not a sentence.
Maybe it’s not you at all.
Maybe the story you’re telling yourself is incomplete.
And maybe, just maybe, it’s time to question the system before you blame the situation.
Because healing isn’t about breaking down—it’s about breaking through.
This isn’t working
Again, I thank Pastor Steven Furtick for this timely message - This Isn’t Working - when I was struggling with the question ‘why am I going through this complete “make-over” of my life?” Leaving the military was not what I had in mind, I loved my job and the people. God took me from going 100mph at a place that was home to a screeching halt. Everything went wrong - the car I bought was a lemon, work was slow and unorganized, and my entire support network (except my best friend) was in another time zone and across an ocean. My life felt like it imploded. Instead, I started to see things that weren’t working in my life that had kept me in a cycle of burnout, bad relationships, and anxiety.
4 ways to start breaking the code based on Mark 3:1-5
“Jesus entered the synagogue again, and a man was there who had a shriveled hand. In order to accuse him, they were watching him closely to see whether he would heal him on the Sabbath. He told the man with the shriveled hand, “Stand before us.” Then he said to them, “Is it lawful to do good on the Sabbath or to do evil, to save life or to kill?” But they were silent. After looking around at them with anger, he was grieved at the hardness of their hearts and old the man, “Stretch out your hand.” So, he stretched out his hand and his hand was restored.”
MARK 3:1-5
Remember the situation is not who you are
“Things will never change”, “It will always be like this”, “this is just how my life is” ... I am willing to bet you have said the same things or a version of them. I am guilty of judging myself based on what I am going through in life. I used to believe it was because I deserved it, somehow, I wasn’t good enough or God just felt like punishing me. I’ve found religion has been twisted to make us feel that way, instead of showing us the grace for healing and growth that God intended we tie ourselves to those beliefs and judge who we are based on the world around us instead of inside us.
It says, “a man with a shriveled hand”. It wasn’t his identity. It was his situation. It was not permanent - it was transformable. Maybe you know how this feels? After the panic attack that gave me tremors, I struggled with defining myself as weak and broken. The tremors are gone, but that moment haunted me until I heard this message. I found strength in the fact that it was a situation that changed a belief system that was hurting me not helping me.
🔎 What situation have you labeled permanent in your life?
Treat the situation as a warning light
I have been known to drive until my empty light comes on in my car and in life. Then push it a little longer. When any other light goes off I cringe because it means there is a bigger problem. I want to ignore it and keep going; we can all ignore those lights - at costly consequences - or we can attend to them.
A situation will always be used to fix the system that created it. It speaks to that place that isn’t working, isn’t functioning, that is hurting you instead of helping you. Jesus knew that, that is why he not only healed the man but asked the question of the whole synagogue. There was something deeper that was wrong than just a shriveled hand - it was shriveled hearts.
🔎 What warning light have you been ignoring?
Challenge the system before the situation
Why did Jesus heal the man so publicly? He could have pulled him aside or waited until the next day - it was not a life-or-death situation. Instead, he drew the attention of everyone - including people who hated him - and asked a simple question. Most of us would find it easy to answer. Is it evil or good for someone to be healed, even if it's the sabbath? The law had turned into a system that didn’t help people. Instead of being made to serve people it had become something people served. The original function of the sabbath - to give people rest - was now an obligation, something to judge others by. People had made it into something dysfunctional.
I have done this in my own life, taken work and made it my identity. Stayed in abusive relationships because I thought I should love someone and forgive them no matter what. The fact the code was missing pieces - like boundaries and self-worth - and keeping me in an unhealthy loop. It wasn’t my situation; it was the system I was relying on that kept putting me in the same places.
That is why God doesn’t fix the situation when we plead with him - he is working on fixing the root cause that will break the cycle. If we don’t fix the root cause we stay stuck in the system that created the situation, and it repeats.
Change what you are looking for
In the story we have four types of people - the Pharisees, Jesus, the people, and the man with the shriveled hand. All four were looking for something different: the Pharisees were looking to judge and accuse. The man with the shriveled hand was looking for healing. The people were unquestioningly following the law. And Jesus was looking to challenge the system that had become dysfunctional.
People could not see the dysfunction because they were looking for the wrong thing or not looking at all. You will find what you are looking for. The most transformative thing you can do for your life is to be open, willing, compassionate, and curious when hard things happen. This doesn’t take away the pain, but it reframes it to be something bigger than just that moment.
🔎Which of the four are you? Are you judging yourself instead of looking for the places you can heal, grow, and change? Have you numbed yourself?
Start small and with a new perspective
I hope that these inspire you in your hardest moments. None of this is easy my friend, I know the confusion and struggle well. These subtle changes release some of the inner turmoil and pave a way forward for healing and growth. If the old code keeps looping, maybe it’s not you—it’s the script. And maybe, just maybe, God isn’t punishing you but inviting you—not to fix it all at once, but to begin again with new eyes. Start small. Stay open. Stretch out your hand… and let healing find you there.
💜Hannah
