Sometimes life is tough, unfair or seems hopeless. Sometimes life and its struggles appear overwhelming. If life feels like you’re drowning, God promised that you won’t (Isaiah 43:2). It’s difficult to handle such situations and not give up. Our emotions tend to drop into despair and it is not always easy to bounce back. Every setback is a disappointment and the pain to hope again is a difficult one to master. But there is a way to hope against hope. There’s God who promised a ‘future and a hope’ (Jeremiah 29:11) no matter what the present looks like. There was God in Abraham and Sarah’s life who would fulfil His promise to them.
‘In hope against hope he believed… being fully assured that what God had promised, He was able also to perform’ Romans 4:18, 21
Abraham was given a seemingly impossible promise by God: at the age of 100, and his wife at 90, should have a child. God promised that a great nation and countless descendants would come from Abraham (Genesis 12:1-3; 15:5), yet it seemed impossible. Their attempts to make it happen without God were fruitless. The situation seemed hopeless. How did Abraham and Sarah handle this situation? They believed in ‘hope against hope.’ They trusted that God was able to do what He promised, even if they didn’t know how and when. Faith in the ability of God to fulfil His word gives us the power to hope and persevere no matter how the situation looks. God calls those things that don’t (yet) exist as though they do (Romans 4:17). God is able; He created everything from nothing.
Abraham ‘did not waver in unbelief’ at the ‘promise of God,’ but ‘grew stronger in faith, giving glory to God’ (v 20). When things don’t work out, we tend to grow weaker in faith, because circumstances speak against what God had promised. Yet our faith must come from what God said, not from how things look. We walk by faith, not by sight. God’s word, not the circumstances, should determine what we believe. Our faith must be nourished by the word of God, worship and prayer. Abraham ‘grew stronger in faith’ in the face of unchanging circumstances because he believed God and kepy glorifying the One who promised in the midst of impossible circumstances. Their ‘biological clock’ was ticking, yet they continued to trust God.
‘By faith even Sarah herself received ability to conceive, even beyond the proper time of life, since she considered Him faithful who had promised’ Hebrews 11:11
Sarah, like Abraham, trusted God’s power to fulfil His word. After promising a son, God asked them, ‘Is anything too difficult for the Lord?’ (Genesis 18:14) A good question! What’s your answer? God promised that: ‘At the appointed time I will return to you, at this time next year, and Sarah will have a son.’ When God speaks, things happen as He says. Isaiah proclaimed: ‘For the Lord of hosts has planned, and who can frustrate it? And as for His stretched-out hand, who can turn it back?’ (Isaiah 14:27). God’s word won’t return to Him without fulfilling what He sent it for (Isaiah 55:10–11). God said to Jeremiah that He is watching over His word to perform it (Jeremiah 1:12). David was convinced that although he walked ‘in the midst of trouble,’ God would give him strength, save him and accomplish what concerned him (NASB) or fulfil His purpose for him (NIV). When the appointed time has come, things will happen. When God opens the door, no one can shut it (Revelation 3:7).
Sarah and Abraham were among those who ‘through faith and patience’ inherited the promise (Hebrews 6:12). Keeping faith in God is the antidote to becoming ‘sluggish’ (v 11), despondent or even cynical at life. When we are hurt by disappointments, bitterness can be like a cancer. The root of bitterness is dangerous as it can defile others, too (Hebrews 12:15). The way to handle this, is to allow God to work in us, even when it hurts (vv 5–11), for it will eventually make us strong and whole (vv 12–13). When life doesn’t get easier, the only way to handle it is to get stronger—hope gives us the strength to continue and endure. We focus on Jesus, the ‘author and perfecter of faith,’ who Himself endure hardship—the worst kind—for what was ahead of Him (v 2). And we, too, will inherit the promise by faith and patience.
‘Faith and love’ spring from the hope we have in God (Colossians 1:5). We can abound in hope by the power the God of hope gives us (Romans 15:13). We can ‘rejoice in hope’ (Romans 12:12) when things are tough. When we combine rejoicing in hope with perseverance in tribulations and a devotion to prayer, we will make it. There’s light at the end of the tunnel. As someone said, ‘When God leads us to it, He will lead us through it.’ Trust Him. Having our ‘hope in the Lord’ is a blessing (Psalm 146:5).
By faith in our faithful God, we can hope against hope. He is faithful to perform what He promised. You won’t drow, but get to the other side. Give glory to God in the midst of the storm and always, always trust Him to be with you and fulfil His word.
God is faithful. Trust Him!
Thank you for your encouraging message Ps.
God bless you.