Little Messages with Big Impact
God has a way of making promises that sound completely unbelievable. For Abraham and Sarah, the idea of having a child at their age was laughable. From a human perspective, the math just did not make sense. Their season seemed long past, and all the evidence around them said it was impossible. Can you relate? Maybe God has whispered something to your heart that feels far beyond your reach. You look at your circumstances and think, “Be real, Lord. How could that ever happen?”
At first glance, it seems Sarai should take the blame for this plan, but Abram was the one who received the promise directly from God. Sarai may have heard about it, but hearing about a word is not the same as hearing from God yourself. Abram’s mistake was allowing a suggestion that sounded reasonable to override divine instruction. What looked like wisdom was actually fear dressed up as logic. Fear often pushes us to take matters into our own hands instead of waiting for God to act.
It might surprise you to find Abram, the father of faith, in what we can call a “fear file.” Yet here he is, afraid and questioning God. His fear was not about war or wealth but about legacy. He had everything except the one thing he deeply desired, a son. After winning a great battle and refusing earthly rewards, Abram heard God say, “I am your shield and your exceedingly great reward.” But instead of celebrating this assurance, his heart revealed another concern: “Lord, what good are all these blessings when I don’t have a son?” His words show us something honest about human nature. Sometimes, our gratitude gets clouded by what we don’t yet have.
What happens after you cry out to God, trust Him, and choose to be still? Victory. Salvation. And not just any kind of victory, but one so dramatic that it leaves you and everyone watching in awe. The story of Israel at the Red Sea is one of the greatest displays of God’s power ever recorded. Just when all hope seemed lost, heaven responded with an impossible command: “Go forward.” What a paradox! The same God who said, “Stand still,” now says, “Move.”
Imagine standing by the edge of the Red Sea with the sound of hooves thundering behind you and waves roaring in front of you. Fear would make perfect sense in that moment. Yet, in the midst of the chaos, God speaks through Moses, “Be still.” What a strange instruction in such a crisis! Stillness seems unreasonable when everything around you is moving fast and threatening to collapse. But stillness is often the divine strategy when God is about to show Himself strong.
Key Verse: “Then they said to Moses, ‘Because there were no graves in Egypt, have you taken us away to die in the wilderness?… For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than that we should…
Fear is not merely an emotion; it is a spiritual force. Paul is deliberate in his language when he calls fear a spirit. This means fear seeks influence, control, and direction over the human mind. If left unchecked, it shapes decisions, limits obedience, and shrinks vision. That is why fear must be confronted, not managed.
One of the great paradoxes of faith is revealed in this verse. God declares that the land has already been given, yet he commands the people to contend for it. This teaches us a crucial truth. A promise given does not eliminate opposition. It attracts it. The enemy does not fight what is not valuable, and he does not resist what has no future.
One of the clearest evidences of being filled with the Holy Spirit is boldness. Not arrogance, not noise, but Spirit-empowered courage. In Acts 4, the disciples were not asking for safety or escape. They prayed, and God responded by filling them afresh. The immediate result was bold speech and decisive action.
Being filled with the Spirit is not a one-time experience; it is a continuous command. Paul contrasts drunkenness with spiritual fullness to show control. Whatever fills you determines what governs you. When the Holy Spirit fills a believer, the first area he takes hold of is the mouth. Scripture continues by saying we speak to one another with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs.