The Igniting Hope Blog

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

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

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

“Row Like Your Life Depends On It!” By Steve Backlund “Row like your life depends on it!” Our raft guide yelled these words to the six of us who were in a raft headed into treacherous river rapids. It felt like how God speaks to me when He is leading me into times of risk and spiritual adventure. God has wired us to love risk and adventure. (Teenage boys especially tend to create stress for their moms by what they do. Let’s just laugh at that!) If we always play it safe, we