Hope Against Hope

Hope against hope is believing what we think is impossible. It means turning deaf ears to the doctor’s diagnosis and saying, “My God is more than able to see me through.” Hope against hope is relying on God’s promise rather than relying on visible circumstances.

One of the heroes in the Bible was Abraham. He led a life of faith. He saw God as his provider. I think he took steps that worked as simple as the account reads. Every past question is easy, and we can say, anybody can do this. But in reality I this is was easier said than done. To live the kind of life Abraham led required total sacrifice of our lives to God.

Total sacrifice in today’s world is very difficult for us if we follow Jesus. We love the world so much that many would rather skip church.

In Abraham’s time there was no Bible, no pastor, counselor, or mentor. Yet He believed in God and was fully persuaded that God had the power to do what He had promised.

Today we still serve a living God, and not a dead one. In the middle of our struggles or what we see as impossible we can say what David says in Psalm 27:13, “I am still confident I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.”

When the promises came to Abraham, he might’ve thought it was going to happen right away, but it took 25 years before it came to pass. He waited that long before he had Isaac. Even when Sarah was impatient. Most of us want God to answer us as soon as we call to Him. But Romans 8:25 tells us, “But if we hope for that which we don’t see, we wait for it with patience.”

How many times do we suffer because of our impatience? We hurry to make decisions and choices instead of waiting for God.

God is faithful, when we start to think all hope is lost. God is always on time. God is always working behind the scenes. We will have it when the time is right.

That car someone is praying for, what if God knows it will destroy their life. He wants people to enjoy His goodness, and He will wait for the right time to answer our requests. He doesn’t want any of His blessings to send us to hell.

We need to keep a right attitude and know His promises for an abundant life will come in His timing.

Solomon said in Ecclesiastes 3:11, “He has made everything beautiful in its time.” Don’t rush to get things done in life because impatience can cost you your life, and everything you have. Abraham waited 25 years, Noah waited 100 years before the flood came, and Joseph waited and went through many struggles before he saw his dream come to pass.

Sometimes, we lose hope when we feel that things we desire have been delayed when we’ve prayed for years, but nothing seems to happen. But know God will make everything beautiful in it’s time.

Hope doesn’t disappoint. Most of us believe that wealth is the answer to their problems, and putting hope in material things is the answer to all our prayers. But they just disappoint us and they can lead us to hell. 

1 Timothy 6:16-17 says, “Who alone has immortality, dwelling in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen, nor can see, to whom be honor and eternal power, Amen. Charge those who are rich in this present world that they not be arrogant, nor have their hope set on the uncertainty of riches, but on the living God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy.”

Even though the headline screams their daily news that thin rule, the world and evil go unchecked, and even though prices rise and markets fall, and the war continues and diseases kill and disasters destroy, even though all the evidence suggests otherwise, we can hope against hope in God, who raised us from the dead with Jesus, who delivered our trespasses and raised us for our justification.