After the initial shock was over, Pharoah changed his mind and sent his entire army to chase them down, and when they finally reached them, the Israelites were pinned between the army and the Red Sea. By all accounts, their backs were against the wall.

When their back was against the wall, it was easy to forget what God had done to get them that far. Earlier in the story, the Lord miraculously delivered Israel from their captors. He rained down plagues on the land and delivered them with his mighty hand. He brought them out of Egypt to the edge of the Red Sea. In a moment of panic, the Israelites accused Moses of bringing them out there just to let them die. God’s response to Moses was just as surprising…

Then the Lord said to Moses, “Why are you crying out to me? Tell the people to get moving!

(Exodus 14:15)

It’s almost as if God was exasperated at Moses as well. His response was to tell the Israelites to get moving! This meant they were going to have to go through the sea. The problem is that they were afraid. Fear is funny like that. It causes us to see problems, not possibilities.

It also makes us panic and lose sight of what God has done in our past. Moses had to remind them that the Lord didn’t bring them this far just to bring them this far. Likewise, if you’re facing your Red Sea today, you need to remind yourself that God didn’t bring you this far just to bring you this far.

Faith chooses to focus on the possibilities, not the problems. It also chooses to look for the miraculous, not your mess. When you have faith, anything becomes possible. Remember, faith makes things possible, not easy.

The Lord didn’t remove the Red Sea, but he did make a way through it. If God’s not removing your Red Sea, there’s a good chance he’s choosing to bring you through it. Either way, you’re not going through it alone, and you will get through it one way or another!

Whatever you’ve been afraid to face, it’s time to get moving!

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It’s easy to have hindsight faith, but it takes strong faith to walk out a promise from God that you haven’t seen yet. That’s the life of Abraham. After waiting almost 25 years for a son, here’s when things began to change for Abraham.

Abram fell facedown, and God said to him, ⁴ “As for me, this is my covenant with you: You will be the father of many nations. ⁵ No longer will you be called Abram; your name will be Abraham, for I have made you a father of many nations. ⁶ I will make you very fruitful; I will make nations of you, and kings will come from you. (Gen. 17:3-6)

In these verses, you’ll notice that God changed his name from Abram to Abraham. His name was changed from “exalted father” to “father of many nations.” In a stroke of irony, Abraham’s name was changed before he had Isaac, not after. Most people would change their name after the miracle, not before, but that’s not how God works. For God believing is seeing.

Imagine walking around calling yourself Abraham, and yet your wife was still barren. Imagine speaking your new name, yet nothing changed about your circumstances. It takes real faith to believe for something you can’t see.

Abraham had to walk around speaking and hearing his new name a year before Sarah gave birth to Isaac. I believe that Abraham’s faith began to grow and that something inside of him and Sarah began to change. A womb that was once dead and unable to support life became the place where a promise was conceived and would eventually give birth to a miracle. Abraham became what he believed.

Maybe God expects the same from us. What would happen if we started confessing what we believed and hoped for? I’m not talking about a name it and claim it or blab it and grab kind of faith. I’m talking about taking hold of the word of God as his promise to us and making it our confession of faith.

The Apostle Paul wrote about the faith of Abraham in Romans 4:17…

As it is written: “I have made you a father of many nations.” He is our father in the sight of God, in whom he believed—the God who gives life to the dead and calls into being things that were not.

That’s what the word of God does. The word of God gives life to dead things and calls things forth as if they already were. Some promises in your life are going to require you to vocalize them. You might sound foolish, but that’s okay because you’re in good company. Noah built an ark in the middle of the desert without ever having seen it rain before. Gideon defeated thousands of men, with only 300 men armed with torches and trumpets. Joshua marched around Jericho for seven days, and the walls came down with a shout. David killed the giant with a sling and a stone. I could go on, but we need to wrap this up.

Some promises take time to germinate and grow. Just because you don’t see your promise happen overnight, don’t give up too soon. Some of them are going to require some extra reps. What promises do you need to start speaking?

The post Speak Your Promise appeared first on EricSpeir.com.

One of my habits is reading through the Bible every year. As always, I start in January with the book of Genesis. A few days ago, I was reading Genesis 1, and a couple of things stood out to me.

“God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the sixth day.” (Genesis 1:31 NIV)

First, God was not in a rush. He could have created everything in one day or one minute if he had chosen to, but he didn’t. He intentionally took six days to do it. The seventh day was a day of coffee and rest. As I thought about this, I realized I’m not very good at slowing down to enjoy the moments. I always seem to rush to get to the next thing. My wife is constantly reminding me to slow down and relax. I’m not good at it, but for the past few days, I’ve been working on this. (I just finished a great book called, “The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry” by Mark Comer. If you struggle with this as well, get a copy of the book. It’s an easy read.)

Another thing I noticed is that God said everything was good. The last thing said each day was, “And God saw that it was good.” The only way God could say that is if he slowed down long enough to reflect upon his day and his work. When’s the last time you stopped a few minutes before going to bed and reflecting upon your day’s work?

Even more so, he said this because he was celebrating his progress. This is a great reminder for us. How often do we lament and beat ourselves up for not making enough progress or hitting our goals? What would happen if we stopped measuring the gap and started measuring our gains? (A great book on this is “The Gap and the Gain” by Dr. Benjamin Hardy. It’s a book I recommend to everyone. If you struggle with beating yourself up and perfection, you should check it out. I plan to reread it this year.)

The last thing I noticed is that darkness always gives way to light. At the end of each day, the scripture declares, “And there was evening, and there was morning” (Genesis 1:31). When God is writing your story, you can always count on a new day. There’s always a new day in God, and each day is a new beginning. His mercies are also new every morning (Lam. 3:22-23). Every day is a new beginning and a chance to be or do something different. God loves new beginnings so much that he chose to take his time with creation and do a little each day.

I think that’s what the Lord would want for us this year. Enjoy your day, celebrate your progress, and do a little each day!

*Disclaimer: The purpose of this post is not to sell you a book. I’m an avid reader, so I always recommend books to my friends. However, if you do purchase a book through one of the above links, I do earn a small commission to help pay for my website hosting fees. I would never recommend a book I do not like or have not read.

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On a personal note, I’ve personally felt stressed lately with school starting back. Things move rather quickly and with transitions, in our home, it has been a tough few weeks. I suspect many of you reading this post can relate as well. It’s during moments of stress that we find ourselves struggling for answers and we find ourselves asking if God hears or does God remember where we are. If we are not careful we will start to believe these things.

It’s during these moments that we cannot allow our circumstances or feelings to dictate our faith. We must turn to the word of God. I was reading in Zechariah 10:11-12 and the Lord spoke to me regarding this season of distress.

“They will pass safely through the sea of distress, for the waves of the sea will be held back, and the waters of the Nile will dry up. The pride of Assyria will be crushed, and the rule of Egypt will end. By my power I will make my people strong, and by my authority they will go wherever they wish. I, the Lord, have spoken!”

Zechariah was a prophet in the Old Testament and he was prophesying to Israel shortly after their return from exile in Babylon. He prophesied to a struggling remnant of people who were doing their best to rebuild the temple after its destruction. From their perspective, things looked pretty hopeless. They were outnumbered, understaffed, underresourced, and discouraged. Maybe you can relate to these feelings but you can have hope today.

Zechariah’s name means “Yahweh remembers,” and his name was a hope-filled reminder that God would keep his promises to his people, even after they had spent seventy years in captivity. You may feel forgotten about but God remembers you and he knows where you are.

We can’t always choose what we go through but we can choose how we go through it. The Israelites were going through distress but the promise is that they would “pass safely through the sea of distress.” You might feel like the waves are going to take you under or overtake you but they will not prevail over you. God’s word declares that you will keep walking through the distress and that you will come out on the other side. The most difficult part of walking through the sea of distress is passing through the messy middle. It’s the time in-between our entrance and the exit of our mess. No matter where you are on your journey you can rest assured that God remembers you and God is with you. The Lord will hold back the waves and will cause the wet ground to become dry so you can pass through the waters. If God did it at the Red Sea once, he could do it again. If he can do it for them, he can do it for you!

Finally, the Lord’s power will make you strong. He will give you the strength you need to endure the trials that you are facing. He will not leave you or forsake you but will see you through the distress. Sometimes he delivers you from the storm, sometimes he delivers you through it!

Prayer: “Thank you Father that you remember us. Thank you that you hear us when we pray and that you never leave us or forsake us. We pray that you would continue to walk with us through the sea of distress and that you would hold back the waves that threaten to overtake us. We thank you for the strength to stand and the courage to keep walking when we feel like giving up. We pray for the supernatural strength of the Holy Spirit to be with us and may you go before us and make every crooked place straight. We pray all of this in the name of your son, Jesus! Amen!

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But when Rehoboam was firmly established and strong, he abandoned the Law of the Lord, and all Israel followed him in this sin. 
2 Chronicles 12:1, NLT

Let’s be honest, we need God the most when things are going bad in our lives. King Rehoboam was a great example of this. He started off having to rely heavily on the Lord and as a result of it, he found great success as a king. He did great at first but eventually, it caught up with him.

The stronger Rehoboam became the less he needed God. At first, he really needed the Lord but the stronger he became the more independent he became. If we aren’t careful our independence can lead us to pride, which can lead to our downfall. Sin and pride are contagious. The bad thing is that all of Israel followed Rehoboam in this sin. It led a whole nation on a downward spiral of depravity.

If it can happen to Rehoboam it can happen to us. That’s why it’s important to stay connected to the Lord with a daily devotional time. Oddly enough, most of our prayers are centered around asking God to make us more comfortable by taking away our discomforts or taking away our problems. Maybe God doesn’t always take them away because he understands our desire for too much comfort (who doesn’t want this?). We definitely need moments of comfort and peace but we can’t live there because we can end up growing too comfortable and too independent. God cares more about our character than he does our comfort (Go ahead, read that again!).

In the end, no matter where you find yourself in life the key is to stay humble and stay connected to the vine. As long as you stay connected to the Lord you’ll continue to grow no matter if you’re facing resistance or enjoying a season of comfort.

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If we aren’t careful these moments will make us question God’s love and care for us. Several years ago when I was a freshman in college I had one of these moments. I was working for a company and was in management and was doing pretty good for a guy in college. My plan was to work my way through nursing school and then go on to medical school to be a doctor. It was all good until I had an accident at work. It was actually a freak thing that happened and no one was hurt. By all accounts, it should not have been a game-changer. However, I was fired for it. To be honest, I was devastated because I spent three years working for this company. To say I was disappointed in how the situation was handled was an understatement.

As it turned out, about this same time the Lord would call me to full-time ministry and he led me to a small bible college in central Florida where I would apply over the summer and get accepted. Looking back, the Lord allowed this disappointment in my life because in the process he removed everything that might have held me back. In the end, this disappointment became a turning point in my life. I ended up marrying my wife in school and we went into full-time ministry and we are still married 24 years later. What I thought was a disappointment turned out to be one of the defining moments of my life.

God can turn your disappointments into turning points when you trust him.

“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” (Romans 8:28)

If you’re facing disappointment today, then lean into God and give it to him. He can your disappointment into a turning point if you will trust him!

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It’s easy to find ourselves being judgemental when other people do not measure up to our standards. The Bible warns us of judging others. Jesus himself said…

Do not judge others, and you will not be judged. For you will be treated as you treat others. The standard you use in judging is the standard by which you will be judged. (Matthew 7:2)

This verse is pretty straightforward. Apparently, God doesn’t like it when we judge others. How you judge others is how you’ll be judged. It never hurts to extend a little grace to someone. You might just need some yourself one day.

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The world believes greatness is in positions. The Kingdom is about our submission. The world wants to be first, the Kingdom wants to be last. The world wants to lord power over people, the Kingdom wants to serve people. The world hoards, the Kingdom sows.

Again, the Kingdom of God is a backward kingdom. In order to see Kingdom miracles, you have to think the opposite of what the world says. With rising inflation, high gas prices, political uncertainty, and economic uncertainty you must stay grounded in God’s Word.

No matter how bad things get the principles of God’s Word remains true, “As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will never cease.” (Gen. 8:22)

Your need will be met by your seed. Resist the urge to hoard during a famine. During a downturn in the economy, Isaac was tempted to run to Egypt (the world’s economy) but God told him to stay put and to plant seed.

“Isaac planted crops in that land and the same year reaped a hundredfold, because the Lord blessed him.” (Gen. 26:12)

The best time to plant seed was yesterday. The second best time is today. If you have a need I would encourage you to plant some seeds in good soil.

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While he was in prison he encountered a cupbearer and baker who had dreams of their own but needed someone to interpret them:

And they replied, “We both had dreams last night, but no one can tell us what they mean.” “Interpreting dreams is God’s business,” Joseph replied. “Go ahead and tell me your dreams.” Genesis 40:8

Joseph could have become bitter about waiting on his dreams while watching others receive blessings and promotions, but he chose to serve while he waited. Joseph’s gift became so valuable that it would result in his promotion out of the prison. Serving would eventually be his ticket out of prison. Help someone else with their dream while you wait for yours. Eventually, someone will need your gifts.

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“It was by faith that Isaac promised blessings for the future to his sons, Jacob and Esau.” Hebrews 11:20

Jacob’s sons were hardly the poster children of righteousness. Jacob was a deceiver, and Esau dishonored his parents by marrying the wrong woman. Despite this, they were still blessed by their father. 

Isaac spoke a blessing over his sons not based on what he saw in the present but by what he wanted to see in their future. It takes faith to pray and speak over your children when you don’t see what you want to see in their life. Sometimes children make bad decisions and do dumb things. Don’t let their present situations dictate your faith in God and in what He can do in and through them.

The blessing came from the words he spoke over them. Our words matter! You have the power of life and death in your tongue. What do you speak over your children? Speak life, not death. If you need to, identify some scriptural promises to speak over your children.

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