by Shannon Tillman | Feb 26, 2026 | Bible Study, Blog, Thoughts
It happened again. I was faced with the same pattern of dysfunction. Why does change not happen? Why do relationships seem to be the same? What keeps lives from being different? In the midst of the difficult situation, I asked the Lord why someone, especially a believing someone, would continue in obvious wrongdoing against others. The Lord brought me to Acts 16 for the answer.
Acts 16:16a
Once when we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a female slave who had a spirit by which she predicted the future.
This slave girl had an evil spirit that predicted events in the future. Why would the owners tolerate a demon in their lives, in their home, in their workplace?
Acts 16:16b
She earned a great deal of money for her owners by fortune-telling.
The presence of a demon profited the slave owners! Evil was permitted as long as there was a benefit. Sadly, this is true in us as well. Often, we do not confront obvious sin, which is evil and demonic, in our lives because there is a gain for us:
Sin of approval (people-pleasing, enabling, compromise, living for others not God) profits us for people to like us.
Sin of gossip profits us to create connections with some and exclude others.
Sin of addiction (which can include spending, social media, and video games) profits us to escape pain.
Sin of anger profits us to silence the opposition.
Sin of choosing what is comfortable (instead of what God is calling us to do) profits us to avoid accountability and possible failure.
Sin of control profits us to get our way.
Sin of….we could list more, but the point is made.
If our sin profits us in some way, we allow it to the harm of ourselves and others. We can know what we are doing is wrong (just as the owners knew the source of their slave’s ability was via an evil spirit) and still continue in our evil behavior. We may even excuse our actions because of the benefits that come from it, refusing to acknowledge that the transgression is demonic in nature and the enemy has control of us in that area. A toleration of sin is a toleration of demonic influence around us. We think we are benefiting from our actions in some way but in truth the enemy is gaining the most advantage from the sin.
We need to quit allowing the enemy’s control in our lives by making the changes required of us. The time has come to confront the evil and cast it out: No more delays!
Acts 16:18b
“In the name of Jesus Christ I command you to come out of her!” At that moment the spirit left her.
May we and others be set free when we choose to no longer profit from our sin.
by Kevin Tillman | Feb 19, 2026 | Blog, Thoughts
Faith is funny because most of us think of it as a point we reached at some time in the past. A decision, a prayer, or a moment we could circle on a calendar. But, when you spend time with Abraham’s story you start realizing his life didn’t really work like that. Nothing about it was tidy enough to circle.
God didn’t sit him down and explain the whole future. He told him to go… and promised clarity would come somewhere “out there” on the road. That had to feel strange. We prefer the opposite order. We want the explanation first so we can decide if obedience seems like a good idea or not. That’s where most of the tension lives for us. Not in believing God exists, but in moving without knowing how this whole thing is going to turn out.
What always stands out to me is that Abraham’s biggest problems didn’t come from rejecting God. They came from trying to help Him. Years had passed after the promise of a son. Silence was wearing on him. Eventually that waiting led to feelings of irresponsibility. So he made a decision that felt practical at the time. Not rebellious… practical. That’s what makes it relatable.
We do it all the time. We fill in the blank because God hasn’t given us an answer. We push conversations forward because we’re tired of not knowing. We’re tired of waiting! We tell ourselves we’re just being wise or proactive. Later we realize we mostly just didn’t like uncertainty and we missed having control. Control is comforting for a short period of time, but then it starts creating things we have to manage.
There’s something hard about letting God be slow. Not lazy slow… deliberate slow. It starts forming a patience in you whether you asked for it or not. I know in my life some of the hardest acts of faith have been the invisible ones. Not the big, bold decisions, but the subtle ones that required a quiet restraint. The moment you decide not to force an answer doesn’t receive applause. Actually, most people will never even know. But little by little, decision by decision it changes you.
You see it in Abraham building altars in different places along the way. No big speeches recorded. Just markers… God met me here, I trusted Him here, I’m still trusting Him now. A life shaped more by repetition than intensity. A life shaped by a series of small choices. Transformation isn’t always some big dramatic moment. A lot of it just feels like returning to the same trust over and over again until it becomes instinct.
Then there’s the moment nobody wants… that Isaac moment. The part of the story that always feels heavier when you slow down and reflect. God pressing His hand on the very thing that explained everything else in Abraham’s life. The promise itself. I don’t think surrender ever feels natural. It feels like handing God the one thing that finally made you feel settled and hearing Him say, trust Me with that too.
The strange part is how often peace shows up right after release. Not always immediately, but eventually. Carrying something tightly creates a constant fear of losing it. Giving it to God doesn’t make it disappear… it just means the outcome isn’t yours to hold together anymore.
By the time you reach the end of Abraham’s life there’s no dramatic closing scene. Scripture just says he died “satisfied with life”. I like that so much, because it sounds quieter than victory. More like someone who lived long enough to see that God had been faithful even when he wasn’t. And somehow the faith kept going after him. Isaac had watched him long before Isaac ever had to trust God personally.
That’s usually how it works. People don’t absorb faith mainly through what we say. They absorb it through what they keep seeing. How you react when things fall apart. Whether you panic or pray first. Patterns preach way louder than words, and their impact last longer.
Abraham didn’t do everything right. That’s probably why his story helps. He veered off course more than once, but he kept turning back the same direction. Over time that direction mattered more than the detours.
Maybe that’s what faith actually is. Not a flawless line forward. More like a person who keeps reorienting themselves toward God over and over and over. Some days confidently, some days barely… but still turning.
Eventually all those turns become a path. And one day you look back and realize the destination wasn’t a place you arrived at all at once. It was the person you became while you kept walking.
by Shannon Tillman | Feb 12, 2026 | Blog, Thoughts
My mom shuffled around the house, exhausted from a lack of sleep. Her blood pressure was elevated and she felt awful. However, she realized her physical condition was influenced by her emotions. Her body was responding to worry over a particular situation. While she knew she should not worry, she was struggling to stop the thoughts raging through her mind. Have you ever felt the same way?
John 14:1
Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me.
The troubled heart points to unbelief. Any area where we are not believing God is the place where we are troubled. A troubled heart is an arrow pointing out the lie that we are believing over God. We need to follow the troubled heart so the lie is unveiled and truth be placed in the area where we struggle. It is not a matter of “trying harder” to not be upset, worried, or concerned. Instead, we are to press in and see what the troubled heart reveals about the state of our soul.
For example, I am troubled with a decision. I struggle with wondering if I can even make the right choices for my life. I could go on and explain my past family dysfunctions or terrible events I experienced or how painful situations occurred. But those only give the root of the problem, they do not solve my troubled heart. Instead, I must look at the area of God I do not believe. Bottom line, I do not think He will take care of me if I make the wrong decision. This reveals a deeper lie: I have to figure it out on my own for I do not really believe His guidance over my life. These lies that stem from my past cause a troubled heart in me whenever I face large decisions.
The thing with a troubled heart is that it is not necessarily troubled by everything. I do not struggle with financial concerns. I believe God is my Provider. I have experienced supernatural help from Him when in the natural I would not be able to make it another month. However, my husband finds a troubled heart in this area. When we were without jobs for a time, he would worry at night while I slept peacefully. His troubled heart pointed him to the lie that he had to be the one to figure out a solution, instead of trusting that God would reveal His plan in His time.
We need to evaluate our own troubled hearts to discover the area of our personal unbelief. Then, we can replace the lie with the Truth, with Jesus, of who He truly is to us, for us, in us, and through us. We do not have to shuffle around in life, weighed down by the troubled heart. Instead, we can walk confidently in every situation by faith in our God.
John 14:1
Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me.
by Shannon Tillman | Feb 5, 2026 | Blog, Thoughts
The situation was already bleak. Unbelievably, the circumstances spiraled down further. I thought we were already at rock bottom when more bad news came. I did what I had done a thousand times; I reviewed my promise cards. (These cards are Bible verses that speak into my situation.) The words on the cards were a far cry from what I was facing. It seemed like I was holding onto a crazy dream. The facts were screaming loudly at me, mocking what seemed a delusional hope. The promises seemed to fade further away. Suddenly, I heard a statement in my heart:
“Shannon, you can either believe the facts or the truth.”
I questioned the statement. “What is the difference between facts and truth?”
“Facts are your circumstances, the earthly reality. I Am Truth. Truth supersedes facts.”
Bible stories flooded my mind:
Fact: The Red Sea trapped the Israelites who were being threatened by the encroaching Egyptian army.
Truth: God had already given the Israelites the promise of their deliverance and the Egyptians’ destruction. They finally saw it realized as they crossed through a pathway formed in the midst of the water which led to the drowning of the ensuing army.
Fact: Gideon’s 300 men army stood no chance against the Midianite army that sprawled throughout the valley.
Truth: God had already told Gideon that He would be with him and that all of the Midianites would be destroyed. Gideon and his army only blew their shofars and the enemy destroyed itself.
Fact: David and his men could not recover the loss of their families after they were kidnapped by the Amalekites.
Truth: God told David to follow them and recover all. David and his men found an abandoned, sick slave of the Amalekites who directed them to the raiding party. David and his men rescued their families as well as plundered the Amalekites.
Fact: Jesus died on a cross. He was wrapped in burial clothes and placed in a sealed tomb. It seemed like the end.
Truth: Jesus had already told His disciples that He would rise again and meet them in Galilee. Jesus always fulfills what He promises.
I do not know what facts of your circumstances may be looming over you. Let me encourage you, the facts are not the Truth. God’s Word, God’s ways will prevail.
Psalm 145:13b
The Lord is trustworthy in all he promises and faithful in all he does.
You can trust the Truth. The facts are not Truth. The facts can be changed in a moment. What was a fact a moment ago, may not be a fact now. Truth will have the final word. What He has promised, He will fulfill. Trust the Truth.
