The Igniting Hope Blog

Fig Trees and Dry Bones Don’t Have Ears By Steve Backlund Fig trees don’t have ears. Neither do dry bones. Dead people don’t hear very well either. Yet Scripture contains fascinating examples of words being spoken to things that seemingly could not hear. In Mark 11:12–14, Jesus spoke directly to a fig tree that had no fruit: “Let no one eat fruit from you ever again.” The next day, the disciples discovered the tree had withered. In Ezekiel 37, God brought Ezekiel into a valle

Jezebel or Strong Woman? By Steve Backlund I believe we need to be careful with the word “Jezebel.” Certainly, there are people who misuse strength and influence through control, manipulation, and intimidation. (We see that clearly in the Jezebel in the Bible.) At the same time, I think we can too quickly use the Jezebel label for women who are confident, assertive, influential, and sometimes immature in how they express those strengths. A woman can be confident, opinionated,

5 Signs We Are Striving, Not Trusting By Steve Backlund Striving can be difficult to recognize because it often looks like responsibility. We are praying, planning, working hard, trying to make good decisions, completing goals, and doing everything we know to do. Yet underneath all that activity can be an internal pressure that says, “I have to make this happen.” This is the root belief of striving. Working hard and striving are not the same thing. We can work incredibly ha

Who Are You Talking To? By Steve Backlund Jesus said, “Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks” (Matthew 12:34). Our words reveal what is happening inside us. They don't just reveal what we believe about God or ourselves; they also reveal what we believe about the people we are talking to. I recently taught a message called Who Do You Say They Are? In it, I proposed three incredibly important questions: 1) Who do we say Jesus is? 2) Who do we say we are? 3) Who do

It Doesn’t Have to Make Sense Yet By Steve Backlund I love wisdom, good planning, getting counsel, and thinking things through. God is never foolish or irrational, but I have discovered something about walking with Him: His wisdom frequently goes beyond what makes sense to our natural minds. Proverbs 3:5 says, “Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding.” It doesn't say we shouldn't have understanding. It says we shouldn't lean on it. If eve

How Hope-Filled Does God Want Us? By Steve Backlund “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope” (Jeremiah 29:11). “Don’t get your hopes up.” We have probably all heard that phrase. It usually comes from someone (frequently ourselves) trying to protect us from disappointment. “Don’t expect too much. Keep your expectations realistic.” For some of us, hope actually feels risky. We have hoped

When Helping Doesn't Help By Steve Backlund Enabling is behavior that unintentionally shields someone from the negative consequences of their harmful actions, often under the guise of help. Have you ever helped someone only to realize later that your help actually kept them stuck? Has anyone “helped” you, but it just prolonged a dysfunction? Most people don't enable others because they have bad hearts. They do so because they have compassionate hearts. We see someone hurting

What's God Doing Right Now? By Steve Backlund One of my favorite biblical descriptions of wise people is found in 1 Chronicles 12:32: "The sons of Issachar... had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do." I love that verse because it reveals something God is empowering us to do today. He is raising up believers who don't merely understand biblical truth, but they also understand the season they are living in. They recognize His activity, discern His timing

Higher Levels, Higher Devils? By Steve Backlund Years ago, I remember saying, "Every time I move forward in God, I get attacked by the devil." I wasn't trying to create a doctrine; I was simply describing what I believed was my experience. It seemed obvious that greater spiritual advancement meant greater spiritual attack. One day I felt the Lord interrupt my thinking. "Steve, why do you keep saying that every time you move forward in Me, you get attacked by the devil?" I ans

The Most Overlooked Leadership Skill By Steve Backlund If someone asked us to name the greatest leadership qualities, we might think of vision, wisdom, communication, or integrity. Those are all important. Yet I believe that after love, hope is the most influential leadership quality we can possess. The Greek word for hope in the New Testament means “the confident, joyful expectation that good is coming.” Hope is far more than optimism. It is a conviction rooted in the goodne

Invest Now or Pay More Later By Steve Backlund Every day we are either borrowing from our future or investing in it. Many years ago, AAMCO Transmissions had a memorable slogan: "Pay now or pay later." Their message was simple. Spend a little money on maintenance today or spend much more repairing major problems later. That phrase has stayed with me because it describes one of the great principles of God's Kingdom. We all face moments when we can embrace a small amount of disc

Believe and Manage By Steve Backlund One of the greatest areas where we are tempted to be frustrated in our Christian life is believing for something that hasn't happened yet. We have all experienced it. We are believing God for healing, but our bodies are still hurting. We are believing for a stronger marriage, but challenges remain. We are believing for financial breakthrough, yet we're still battling debt. We believe for emotional freedom while continuing to renew our mind

Believing the Best in Your Spouse Guest Blog by Pieter & Melinda Lagaay We are honored to have Melinda and Pieter Lagaay share on the topic of marriage. They bring authentic wisdom, contagious hope, and a testimony of God's restoring power that will strengthen and inspire you. Wendy and I highly recommend their ministry. When Pieter and I began the process of restoring our marriage, I discovered that the real battle was not in his choices anymore — it was in my beliefs. I had

Decide and He Will Provide By Steve Backlund One temptation we all face is the desire to have complete certainty in details before we move forward. We want to know how everything is going to work out. We want confirmation that the resources will be there. We want assurance we won't fail. Yet God often works differently than we expect. This is a word for many of you today: Decide, and He will provide. While wisdom tells us to pray, seek counsel, and count the cost, faith event

Big or Small on the Inside? By Steve Backlund One of the hidden tests in life and leadership is what happens inside us when someone else succeeds, and we are not. Most of us enjoy our own victories. The greater challenge is often learning how to respond when someone else receives the promotion, favor, influence, opportunity, or breakthrough we were hoping for ourselves. James 3:13-18 describes two kinds of wisdom. One is characterized by bitter envy and selfish ambition. The

It Is Already Happening (Part 2) By Steve Backlund Looking for Gold, Not Dirt Wendy and I were senior leaders in Central Nevada in the 1990s. We lived in a town that had a massive open-pit gold mine. Hundreds of tons of dirt were moved every day, but the workers were not fixated on dirt. Their focus was the gold hidden within it. As we observed this, we realized it was a powerful picture for leadership and relationships. We made a decision that we would become gold finders, n

It Is Already Happening (Part 1) By Steve Backlund What if God is already doing far more than we realize? In John 4:35, Jesus confronted a mindset that still affects many believers today: “Do you not say, ‘There are still four months and then comes the harvest’? Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are already white for harvest.” The disciples were saying, “It’s not happening yet.” Jesus was saying, “It already is happening. You just are no

The Manna Ceased By Steve Backlund “Then the manna ceased on the day after they had eaten the produce of the land…” (Joshua 5:12). What a fascinating and emotional verse. For forty years, the Israelites experienced miraculous daily provision. Every morning manna appeared on the ground. It was dependable, supernatural, and familiar. An entire generation had built their lives around it. Then suddenly it stopped. At first glance, that sounds disappointing. Why would God remove

Declarations: The Science Behind It By Steve Backlund Declarations are one of the most practical ways we renew our minds and experience transformation (Romans 12:2). It is speaking life (Proverbs 18:21) and “calling those things that do not exist as though they did" (Romans 4:17). I have written books about it, taught it extensively, and experienced the benefits of it. What we believe greatly impacts what we feel and will experience. And what we say is a main contributor to

Fasting More or Feasting More? By Steve Backlund Fasting is biblical and important. Jesus fasted, and the early church fasted. Fasting helps us detach from unhealthy appetites and increase focus on the Lord. However, I believe many people lack victory not because they fast too little, but because they are not feasting enough. Too often we are: underfed on hope, underfed on testimonies, underfed on identity, underfed on the goodness of God, underfed on worship, underfed on Scr