Margaret Feinberg - More Power to You: Declarations to Break Free from Fear and Take Back Your Life

One of the benefits of forthright friends is their ability to cut through the poppycock and deliver the unvarnished truth.

A while back, my husband, Leif, and I lunched with one of our most matter-of-fact confidants, Chris. I explained how discouragement had descended without warning, stealing my joy and thrusting me into a crisis that left me ever spinning over my identity, decision-making, and future. This wasnt the type of chemically induced melancholy that could be helped by Xanax or Lexapro. Ive experienced those and have zero qualms with taking medication when necessary. No, this was altogether differentmore existential and more spiritual. Dark days rolled into murky months, until lostness and lethargy became my new normal.

Chris can be somewhat reserved in group settings, and he waited for me to finish my gripe session before he put down his fork, stared me straight in the eyes, and dropped a truth bomb: I dont know how or when it happened, but youve made some agreements with the universe that just arent true.

Startled by his bluntness, I recoiled and grew defensive, but he continued on. Over the past few years, he said, my descriptions of myself, my career, my relationships, and my perception of God had morphed. When we had first met fifteen years earlier, I cruised along with optimism and expectancy. I believed God was for me and with me, and I was capable of fulfilling my calling. I saw myself as a bridge builder, an overcomer of obstacles, a competent Bible teacher in a world where women often have to work twice as hard to gain half the opportunities of their male counterparts.

Then life happened without warning or apology. A series of brutal strugglesa cancer diagnosis, financial woes, failed friendships, a painful betrayal, unanswered prayersall worked together to corrode my confidence, leaving me shaky and uncertain.

The confusion and discouragement left me defenseless. Thats when a voice slithered in and whispered the lies...

Youre a has-been.

You have nothing more to give.

Youre a failure.

You should just give up.

I dismissed these negative ruminations at first. Then I acknowledged them and, over time, I found myself agreeing with them. Soon I was flooded by a deluge of negativity until life felt more like existing than living. Like a rudderless ship, I had grown powerless, tossed this way and that by limiting thoughts and downward spirals. I had given away the power to determine how I felt, which assumptions I lived by, how I viewed myself and others, and how I responded to conflict.

On the plane ride back from California, I searched the Scriptures for wisdom about how to change course. Right there in seat 21A, somewhere over Nevada, a verse Id loved since childhood spoke to me as

if for the first time. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, Paul wrote in Romans 12:2, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Chris was right. The negative

patterns emerging in my life had arisen in my mind. I remembered that the word repentance (metanoia) literally means to change ones mind. Not just to change your behavior, but to transform your mind.

IF I WANTED TO TAKE BACK MY
LIFE AND REGAIN MY POWER,
I NEEDED TO UNTANGLE THE
LIES FROM THE TRUTH.

If I wanted to take back my life and regain my power, I needed to untangle the lies from the truth.

As soon as I returned home, I scoured the internet for resources on how Christians can renew their minds and stumbled on a spiritual practice used by my pastor friend, Craig Groeschel. He recites particular statements of truth each day to align his thoughts with Christs. This was just what I needed.

I snatched some paper from the printer and penned my own Daily Declarations specifically designed to confront the lies that seem to be so prevalent in my life and culture today. Starting that day, I devoted ninety seconds each morning to reading through the listoften out loud. One by one, I rejected the lies Id accepted as truth and made bold Daily Declarations rooted in Scripture about Gods goodness, the fierce love of Christ, and my worth. Seventy-two hours later, Leif said, Somethings radically different about youyoure lighter and freer than Ive seen in months.

Little did I know how much this simple practice would sustain me in quarantine during the pandemic. The Daily Declarations became a spiritual lifeline that empowered me to overcome the negativity and hardship of each day.

Though it may sound hard to believe, taking ninety seconds each morning to recite these Daily Declarations has changed my life, my outlook, my impact. When the Accuser whispers in my ear, I shut him down with the truth of who God is, what God says, and who I am as Gods child.