Declaration of Life

This time of year most families are gearing up for a summer full of family vacations, baseball, camps, and days spent at some of our beautiful Arkansas lakes. Falling right in the middle of our summer is one holiday that we are proud to celebrate every year: Independence Day. July 4th, 1776, was the day that our founding fathers signed the Declaration of Independence.  

The second sentence in the Declaration of Independence makes this well-known statement, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness” – Declaration of Independence (US 1776).

Wow! What a powerful declaration! It is this sentence and the word “declaration” that have been resounding in my mind for several weeks. A declaration is a formal announcement or statement. Its origins come from the Latin word declare, or to ’make quite clear’.  Our founding fathers thought it of the utmost importance that we make quite clear that we were going to live as free states. It is my belief that we need to make a few declarations in our lives as well. 

The Bible says in Proverbs 18:21(NIV), The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit. Did you read that? What we say has power. Take a moment…have you thought about how much power is in what you say? The reason I ask this question is because most of us go automatically to what we’ve said to others. And, that’s definitely a good and important thing to consider. 

But, few of us ever consider what we declare over ourselves on a daily basis. What are you telling yourself daily in your thoughts?  It is those thoughts that begin to move from our minds to our heart and eventually, out of our mouths come negative declarations over our lives.

It usually sounds something like this: “I will never be able to overcome this problem. I don’t know why I even try.”  Maybe we declare negative things over our marriages, our finances, or even our health. Most importantly, we allow negative declarations to discourage us spiritually. “I am just not good enough. God can’t forgive me.”  Remember this…negative words can’t lead to a positive life. Speaking positively is not a replacement for God, it is a response to Him. It may not change your circumstance, but it will change you!

So, I declare for you today, that you are going to speak LIFE! Speak life over yourself. Make it quite clear, that you are the object of God’s Love! Declare freedom from the negative words spoken over your life. Declare what God’s Word says about your life. We are not declaring our independence, but our absolute dependence on the life-giving Word of God! I encourage you to take some time and write down a personal declaration that you can proclaim over yourself daily. Make it “quite clear” that you are who God says you are!