Against All Hope

Hope is most mentioned in times of desperation.  A word that is spoken as a last resort for many of us.  When life leaves us hanging by a thread, it is this mere four letter word that can sustain us from falling into the deep abyss of despair.  What makes hope so powerful?

As believers, we must believe in the unseen.  This is very different than the worlds’ reality of existence.  You cannot have faith or hope, without trusting that something exists or will exist that is not yet seen.

Romans 8:24   ….”But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he already has?”

When I read this verse the other day, I was left pondering how amazing our God is! Our Heavenly Father is so much greater than the worlds’ simple explanation of things.  The world believes that only when something is tangible or proven scientifically, then it exists or is made possible.  But the Bible teaches that if you can see it, what hope is there in that?! Anyone can believe or hope for what is seen.  But as believers, we are not called to believe in the easy or to hope effortlessly.  In Romans 4:18 it says..” Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the Father of many nations, just as it had been said to him.” How amazing is our God, that He uses our hope in the impossible, to bless us abundantly and impossibly! This is the kind of God we serve!

I believe that hope is one of many precious gifts we are blessed with as believers.  Abraham did not waiver through unbelief regarding the promise of God that he and his wife Sarah’s withered bodies, who were 90 and over 100, would conceive a child.  And scripture says that he was strengthened to do what was promised to him, because he merely believed and trusted God.  What amazing things would the Lord allow in our lives if we just had enough faith in Him to hope for the impossible and believe His word to be true!! Our greatest hope is not in this life but in the promise of eternity with our Father in Heaven someday.  But He loves us enough to want His best for our lives in the here and now as well, and God’s word is full of promises to give us life abundantly if we just have hope and faith in Him!

With Love-   April

Isaiah 40:31

…but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength.  They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not grow faint.