Chapter 1 is centered on the idea that negative thoughts have the power to dominate our lives as self-perpetuating lies: “A lie believed as truth,” Groeschel says, “will affect your life as if it were true” (13). He begins with an anecdote of playing a prank on one of his co-pastors: Groeschel led the other man to believe that he was locked inside a closet, even though the door remained unlocked. Rather than trying the door, the other pastor believed what he had been told and spent hours trying to find an alternate way of escape. Groeschel prompts his readers to consider if there are similar lies in their lives that have kept them “locked in” to negative patterns.

The mind, says Groeschel, is a battlefield: “Your mind is a war zone, and you are under attack. It’s critical that you become aware of the fight” (10). Using biblical references, Groeschel identifies the enemy as Satan, who is working to feed us lies in the form of negative thoughts which will keep us powerless and imprisoned. Groeschel uses personal examples from his life, pointing out the many times in which he was led to question his own value and abilities because of negative feedback.