Welcome to Faith Over Fear, the Christian Pregnancy and Birth podcast. I'm Natalie Portman, a Jesus-loving mama, birth doula, and childbirth educator. And it's so easy to make this season about controlling outcomes or proving our strength, but the Lord invites us into something so much better, the chance to love Him more, trust Him more deeply, and experience His joy even in the hard moments. That's what this podcast is all about, and I'm so glad you're here with me. Let's choose faith over fear together.

Natalie Portman

Whether you're brand new to the podcast or you've been listening for a while, I am especially glad you're here with me today. This episode is a little different than anything I've done before because it's the beginning of a conversation that the Lord has been stirring in me for quite some time now. And in many ways, this series grew out of a, a few questions that the Lord was just asking me, and I was not ready to answer them. So today is the first episode of a whole series I'm calling Biblical Discernment of Birth Practices. And so over the next several months, because I'm releasing these episodes every other week, we're gonna be walking through some of the most common birth practices, and, and also this is applicable to pregnancy and just motherhood in general. Things like yoga, hypnobirth, acupuncture, homeopathy, placenta encapsulation, the Enneagram, and then so, so much more. For each practice, we're going to look at three things. We're gonna look at where did this practice come from, what belief system is this built on, and then how should we think about this in light of scripture and God's Word? So I'm not here to just hand you a list of rules, and do this, don't do this, and just tell you My goal is really and truly to help you think biblically, discern carefully, and then just to bring these questions to the Lord for yourself. Because ultimately, my opinion is not what matters. God's opinion is what matters. So before we go any further, I do want to be transparent about this, because I have personally engaged with so many of these practices that we're going to be discussing in this series, things like acupuncture, placenta encapsulation, yoga, and using the Enneagram. I engaged with these things without even questioning where these came from. Most of these things were recommended to me by friends or birth professionals, or they're just common things that I saw in the birth world, and I just, again, never stopped to ask where did these things come from. But over time, the Holy Spirit just began nudging me with questions that,, I did not have answers to. So instead of stifling those questions, pushing them way deep down, I decided to go looking, and so that's what this series is, the things that I'm learning along the way. So I want you to know my heart. I just want to share what I've been learning and what the Lord's been showing me, and one thing that I'm really prone to is a feeling of condemnation, but there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. That's Romans 8:1. And so if you are going through this series with me and you're starting to feel some conviction about certain practices, that comes from the Lord. But any condemnation is not from the Lord, and, and so I just want to encourage you in that. the goal of the series is not to shame you. It's to help you discern. Our salvation rests entirely on the finished work of Jesus Christ. His last words on the cross were tetelestai, which means it is finished, paid in full. And so we are not saved by making perfect decisions or successfully avoiding mistakes. We are saved completely by grace through faith. And so what we're talking about in this series is sanctification, the lifelong process of learning, to think and live and love more like Jesus and to lay down our will and our way to His perfect will and way for us. So when the Holy Spirit brings conviction, it's an invitation not to shame us And it's an invitation to greater freedom. So again, I, I'm very prone to, feeling condemned when I realize I've done something wrong, and I think it's because I think too highly of my own performance, and I forget who God is. Tim Keller says this beautiful recap of the gospel, and he says, "The gospel is this: We are more sinful and flawed in ourselves than we ever dared believe. Yet, at the very same time, we are more loved and accepted in Jesus Christ than we ever dared hope." Ooh, amen. That's the posture I want us to carry into every single episode of this series, and I'm wrestling with it too, because I've suggested things to my clients and to you on this podcast that I no longer want to associate with. So if this series is stirring something like regret in you, know that you are not alone in that. Something fascinating about birth is that it has always been recognized as spiritually significant. Across cultures and throughout history, people have treated birth as more than just a medical event, and I actually think that points to something very, very deep, that birth is sacred because life is sacred, so the problem isn't the desire for meaning and community or healing. It's that, the problem is, is that we, we source, healing, community, spiritual significance from things that are not from God. And so Scripture repeatedly calls believers to exercise discernment because we have a real spiritual enemy who operates through deception Ephesians 6:12 tells us that our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. And in 2 Corinthians 11:14, it tells us that Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. He doesn't present lies as obvious lies, because who would follow a lie? But he presents them as wisdom, healing, empowerment, and ancient truth. And so that's why discernment matters, and that's why it especially matters in the birth space, where there's such a hunger for spirituality, and it's also one of the places where deception has unfortunately found such a foothold. Jesus tells us in John 10:10, "The thief comes only to steal, kill and destroy." Only to do those things, and that's his ultimate agenda. Everything he does is aimed at death and destruction, especially for God's children. He wants to destroy us, but here's what makes him so especially dangerous to us as believers, is that he's all about the counterfeit. A counterfeit bill, like money, doesn't work because it's obviously fake. It works because it looks just like the real thing. And in this season of pregnancy and birth and motherhood, he works really hard, because he's all about destroying life, and pregnancy and birth and motherhood's all about life. but if you have any level of experience in the birth world, you know that it's saturated with spiritual lures and, just counterfeits of all kinds. And so, I want us to be discerning of what is of the Lord and what's not of the Lord Something that's been really clarifying for me as I've been researching for this series is understanding what occult means, because that's, you know, spoken about in scripture. And it comes from the Latin word meaning hidden or concealed, and that's exactly the point. When you look at it through that lens, that list of potential, you know, practices and things becomes much larger. th- think of like energy healing, crystals, yoga, manifestation practices these are all things that at their root is attempting to access a power or a knowledge, that's not of God. And the Bible doesn't just caution us about these things, it warns us plainly and repeatedly to have nothing to do with these practices. I'm also gonna read you John 14:6, and it says, "I..." Speak, this is Jesus speaking. "I am the way, the truth, and the life." Jesus is not a way or one option among many others that are just as valid. Jesus is the way. He is the narrow gate, that he describes as himself in Matthew 7. And it's narrow because truth is specific. Jesus is not just one spiritual truth or option alongside valid others, he is the only valid option, some of these practices that we're going to discuss aren't just theologically problematic at an intellectual level, but these are actually entry points for spiritual darkness. And many of us are probably needing deliverance from these different spiritual darknesses, even as believers. And this is a whole other topic. but I will say that if that's kind of a new or strange idea to you, I would love to encourage you to start studying scripture in regards to spiritual, warfare, and, understanding what Jesus was doing when he was casting demons out of people and things of that nature. There was very much a real and spiritual battle that Jesus equips his, followers for, and that's not just for people that don't know him. That's for believers as well, because we also are extremely susceptible to spiritual oppression. I'm gonna leave some resources in the show notes, that have been helpful for me personally, in regards to understanding, spiritual warfare and deliverance, and just again, the real spiritual battle that we're in. This is not something hypothetical and just, one of the sobering reasons why I felt like this series really mattered to me, not only as a mother, but, you know, as your sister in Christ, is that what we engage with spiritually isn't just affecting us, it also affects our children. When a parent opens themselves up to spiritual darkness, their children are also susceptible to that. Matthew 18 shows us just how seriously Jesus takes this spiritual vulnerability of children, and He places a child in front of the disciples and says, "Whoever causes one of these little ones to stumble, it would be better for a millstone to be hung around their neck." And so Jesus is not just casually saying these things. It's because He is deeply protective of children and deeply serious about what they are exposed to spiritually. And then in Mark nine when a father brings his son to Jesus, he tells him that his boy has been tormented by a demonic spirit since he was a child. So spiritual oppression in children is real, and it can begin early and persist for years without resolution, especially if we are not even aware that that's possible So I want to be extremely careful here in how I'm sharing this because I don't want you to hear me and think, "Natalie's trying to instill fear in me because of this," because th- this is not the final story. Jesus has victory over this. So if you have engaged with any of these practices that may have opened up some spiritual darkness in your life or into the life of your children, the good news is that that can be closed off in the name of Jesus. Some of us, probably most of us, are dealing with some level of spiritual oppression, and it doesn't always look so dramatic. Sometimes it just looks like fear that you just cannot shake, or anxiety that you can't shake, no matter how much you just keep bringing this to the Lord, praying. sometimes it looks like depression that just lifts for a little bit but then comes right back. or it can just be like this heaviness that you feel, or a hopelessness that you feel. But I also wanna caution you that that doesn't necessarily mean that every instance of that is automatically demonic oppression or spiritual oppression. But I don't want you to think that these are all just in your head or just biological there very well could be a spiritual dynamic at play, and Jesus alone is able to deliver you from that. if you've tried over and over again with discipline and prayer and accountability to overcome something but you just have not found lasting victory in that, there's a really good chance that, again, there is a spiritual aspect to that. And so Jesus came to proclaim freedom for the captives, and that is not metaphorical. That is, literal. And so if you want to explore that further, there's a beautiful book called Glorious Freedom, and it's by Percy Burns. he shares a lot about just ways to find freedom, with Jesus from these different just spiritual darknesses that we might find ourselves in.

Real quick before we continue, if this episode is stirring something in you and you're realizing you want more support as you prepare, I would love to come alongside you, whether that's through my online childbirth education, one-on-one virtual birth support, or even just a simple tool like my Christian birth affirmation cards to keep you reminded of the Lord's provision in this season. It's all waiting for you at faithoverfearbirth.com or visit the links in the show notes. All right, let's keep going.

Natalie Portman

So I want to give you a model for us to think through, and this comes from Acts 17:11. and it's the story of the Bereans. And so it says, Now the Berean Jews were of more noble character than those in Thessalonica, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true. And I love that they weren't just accepting whatever they were being told, even from Paul, who was an apostle, but they received it eagerly and openly, and then they went and they held it up to scripture and made sure that it lined up with what was true. And so this is the posture that I desire for you as we go through this series, is that you would be eager and discerning and willing to just take in this information and then take it to the Lord and have him, by the power of the Holy Spirit, help you examine what is right and what is true. 1 John 4:1 gives us a companion command that fits right alongside the Berean model, and it says, "Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world." So it's our job as believers to test the spirits. Not every spiritual experience or practice or teacher, even if it produces a feeling of peace and healing is from God. John is telling us that discernment is what God calls us to. The Bereans tested teaching against scripture, and then John tells us to test the spirits against that same standard. That is going to be our posture through this whole series So every episode we're gonna run, each practice through three questions, and so I'm gonna walk us through those briefly. So the first is, what is the source? This comes from Deuteronomy 18:9 through 14, so I'm gonna l- I'm gonna read that to you. It says, "When you enter the land the Lord your God has given you, do not learn to imitate the detestable ways of the nations there. Let no one be found among you who sacrifices their son or daughter in the fire, who practices divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft, or casts spells, or who is a medium or spiritist, or who consults the dead. Anyone who does these things is detestable to the Lord. You must be blameless before the Lord your God." Now I want to read that carefully with you because your first instinct may be like, "Okay, I'm not doing witchcraft. I'm not engaging with mediums or, you know, doing these detestable things." but underneath all of it, is again this, this feeling of wanting to channel and have access to spiritual knowledge, power, or guidance that is apart from God. They all assume there is spiritual reality accessible outside of God's self-revelation, and then they aim for us to tap into that through dark and demonic power. So that principle is still applicable today. The specific practices probably look different, but the category is still the same. Anything that promises spiritual insight, healing, alignment, or protection through a channel other than God and his power is not from the Lord. so now let's talk about the second question: What is the framework? And this question comes from Colossians 2:8, where Paul says, "See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the elemental spiritual forces of this world rather than on Christ." So the Colossians were being pressured by false teaching that mixed Jewish legalism, Greek philosophy, and early mysticism. People were telling them that they needed additional spiritual practices and knowledge beyond Christ, The framework question is essentially what does this practice assume to be true about the world? Does it assume that there is a universal life force of energy flowing through the body? Does it assume that the divine is within you or within nature rather than a personal and transcendent God? Does it offer spiritual access through something other than Christ? Because those assumptions get into us whether we intend them to or not. And then the third question: What is the fruit? And this comes from 1 Corinthians 10:23, where Paul writes, "I have the right to do anything, you say, but not everything is beneficial. I have the right to do anything, but not everything is constructive." And so that's actually the Corinthians themselves saying, "I have the right to do anything," which was something that they regularly said to justify what they're, they were doing, their choices. This question might be the most convicting because it's asking you is what this practice leads me to, is it more Christ-likeness? Is this practice deepening your dependence on Jesus, or is it giving you an alternative path to put your hope and your trust and also, your glory? Are you attributing your healing and blessing from something that's not God? So again, those three questions, number one, what is the source? So where is this coming from? What spiritual system is it built on? Number two, what is the framework? What does this practice assume to be true about reality, and is that in line with the Word of God? And then three, what is the fruit? Does this genuinely build Christlikeness in me, and is this beneficial to the body of Christ? And I would love for you to actually be able to work through this framework for yourself. So I've created a companion handout called The Birth Practice Discernment Guide, which will walk you through all these questions and then gives you some space to kind of work through those answers yourself. that's inside the Christian Mama Birth Prep Library. So if you are not already signed up for that, sign up for it at faithoverfearbirth.com. And then I'll also include the link, the direct link for signing up for that in the show notes as well. Before we kind of brush past this question that you may be asking yourself is, well, what if these birth practices are actually working? So, you know, acupuncture did put me into labor, and it helped alleviate pain, or what if the Enneagram felt very accurate and helped me understand my personality more? So the wild part of this is that some of these practices really do work and produce real and actual results. But that's exactly what makes this conversation so important, because just because something works doesn't mean we should continue to use it. Something can work but it not be from Him, and we're potentially opening ourselves up to, darkness and things that we did not intend to do. So with all of that in mind, I want to just give you a picture of what's ahead and kind of what to expect from this series. over the coming months, we're going to be looking at several different categories together. I haven't completely worked out how I'm gonna break them all up, but some of these things we'll be going over is energy-based practices, so things like acupuncture, Reiki, homeopathy. we're also gonna look at ceremonies and rituals, things like a Blessing Way ceremony, placenta practices. We're also gonna look at the birth space itself, so using crystals, sound healing. we're also going to go into just more spiritual frameworks, that have saturated the birth culture, the sacred feminine movement, spirit baby communication. And then we're also going to look at more subtle practices that are kinda hard to discern. Things like the Enneagram, hypnobirth, things of that nature. And then we'll close the series with what I think is the most important conversation of all, which is what God actually offers us and why His way is so much better than anything else, any of these other options. Before I let you go, I would love to just pray over you and over this series, because I really don't take lightly what it means to steward your ears and your heart through this series. And if I'm being completely honest, I feel such a weight even recording this episode, because I just know that there is such a weight to, the spiritual battle that we're in, and I just want to honor the Lord with the words that I'm putting out and what you're hearing and receiving. So let's pray. Lord Jesus, I thank you for this mama who's listening, who found this episode today, and I thank you that, you're not afraid of hard questions, and that you invite us, to seek and to ask and to knock, and to seek wisdom from you, Lord. I pray that this series would be exactly what you intended it to be, nothing more, nothing less, and I just ask that the Holy Spirit would be the teacher, and not me, that the Holy Spirit would lead and guide. And I just pray for the mom who's longing to honor you with her choices in this season. I pray that you would give her grace and truth, and remind her continually that there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. I ask that the end result of this whole series would just be surrender to you, sanctification, that we would become more like you, Jesus, and that you would receive all of the glory in your precious holy name. Amen. If this episode and, the series in general is resonating with you, would you please share it with a friend? This conversation, is so far reaching. I feel like I'm just scratching the surface on so much of this. and just as a reminder, sign up for the Christian Mama Birth Prep Library, which includes that birth practice discernment guide, where you can walk through it yourself, and, and with the Holy Spirit to just hear what He has for you. I want to leave you with this final bit of encouragement, and it comes from James 1 through 5, and it says, "If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you." I love that so much. You don't have to have this all figured out right now, and just ask the Holy Spirit, invite the Holy Spirit to come in and to guide you in that wisdom and discernment. and that's really all I have for this series. It's gonna be very simple, just looking at these birth practices and then running it through those three questions. if you're a believer and you have the Holy Spirit living inside you, He is going to be a much better teacher than I will ever, ever be. And so as you listen through this series, I just want you to wrestle with Him through these things and ask Him, what He wants for you specifically. He will not leave you without wisdom when you sincerely seek Him for it

That's it for today's episode. If this encouraged you, I would love to invite you to sign up for my free Christian Mama Birth Prep Library. It's full of practical tools and faith-rooted resources to help you prepare for a peaceful, Christ-centered birth. You can sign up at faithoverfearbirth.com or with the link in the show notes. And if you enjoyed this podcast episode, I would love it if you would take 30 seconds right now to leave a rating and review of this podcast. It genuinely means so much to me, and it also helps more mamas find this resource. Until next time, keep choosing faith over fear