It was written of Abraham that “Against hope (Abraham) believed in hope” (Roman 4:18). Have you ever felt this way? Maybe there is a hope or a dream that the Lord has given you that seems impossible to ever come true; in fact, it feels “against hope.” This Scripture is comforting because it teaches us that in the deepest despair of all impossibilities, there is still hope.
The Hope of God’s Promises
Abraham, you see, wanted a son. God had given him a promise that he would have a son and that his descendants would be like the stars in the sky in number. But time went on and on, and Abraham and his wife Sarah became very old. Abraham was nearly 100 years old and Sarah was about 90, and there was still no sign of God’s fulfilled promise. Yet God had been working in Abraham throughout all the long years he waited, and the Lord was teaching him to trust and rely on Him.
When Jesus was asked “What must we do to do the work that God requires?” He gave this reply: “The work of God is this: to believe in the One He has sent” (John 6:28-29, NIV). The word believe in this verse, when translated from the original Greek, means: “to trust, to rely upon, to cleave to.” It’s the idea of putting faith in another who is outside of ourselves. It means we are trusting another’s strength and ability and not our own. Jesus is talking about having a simple child-like trust in Him. This is the same trust that Jesus calls us to have, when He says “Come unto me all ye who are weary and heavy laden and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28). True trust always results in rest, for the burden is no longer on you but on God.
Do you have the weight of an impossible situation in your life? Do you have a vision that is all but snuffed out? Let go of the impossibilities in your own eyes and receive the grace to trust God for His possibilities. He truly is able to bring it to pass, for as He said to Abraham, “Is anything too hard for the Lord?” (Genesis 18:14).
God is Faithful
God did indeed fulfill His promise and in Abraham’s old age, He gave him a son named Isaac. Through Isaac, the entire Israelite nation came into being. God had begun to fulfill the word He spoke when He said to Abraham: “Look up at the heavens and count the stars—if indeed you can count them…so shall your offspring be” (Genesis 15:5, NIV). Isaac, by the way, means laughter. God told Abraham to name his son Laughter because the promise seemed so impossible that it literally made Abraham laugh.
Do you have a promise that makes you laugh? Remember “With God, all things are possible” (Mark 10:27).
In Christ Jesus,
Richard O. Webb
HeartoftheLord.org
