At my home church here in Richmond, Virginia, we just finished a sermon series entitled "I Declare." It looked at simple affirmations that we learn to claim as truth for our lives.
Learning to declare truth is a powerful way to grow. Think about these simple affirmations, these declarations:
Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me. (Ps 103:1)
Why are you downcast, O my soul? Put your trust in God. (Ps 42:5)
The Lord is my light and my salvation. Whom shall I fear? (Ps 27:1)
God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea. (Ps 46:1-2)
The Psalms, which we think of as prayers, are as much declarations as they are petitions. David is constantly speaking to himself, declaring both the truth of the hard things that he is going through and the larger truth that he is seeking to claim. We have a lot to learn from the Psalms. One of the most powerful weapons for growth is learning to declare the truth that we do not feel, that we may not be experiencing, but that we know is the unseen reality around us.
I have found journaling to be a powerful way of declaring truth. Each morning as I sit and reflect on the day before and the day ahead, I find the need to talk to myself, to speak with conviction about truth that I am finding hard to practice. Declaring truth is one of the most powerful journaling practices.
Recently I've been thinking a lot about identity. I'm so prone to be constantly striving, straining, seeking to achieve. A declaration that I realized is so important for me: "I am God's son." In the midst of my striving and attempts to earn God's favor, if I could simply rest in the knowledge, in the beauty of God's word to me — "You are my son" — then all the need for straining and striving could melt away.
Think about the power of declaration:
I am loved.
I am forgiven.
God is good, and He is on my side.
If God is for me, who can be against me?
All things work together for good.
It's going to be okay.
I want to encourage you to latch on to the power of declaration.
Think about the places of struggle in your life. What is the truth that is larger than your struggle? What is the declaration you need to vigilantly claim? State that declaration. Write it down. Come back to it day after day, hour after hour, until your heart, your soul, begins to claim the larger truth that, in the moment, in the struggle, is so hard to believe.
The power of declaration can change your life. Think clearly: "What is the truth that I need to declare in my life? What is the truth that God would have me believe?" Then lean into that truth, claiming that truth, until it becomes a reality in your life.
I declare! What a powerful truth!
Tell me, what truth do you now declare?
Tommy, beautiful. "E-Prime" has helped me with this, quite a bit, over the years.
Thank you Tommy as this is a great thing to start doing …