Hope Against Hope
Word, Heart & Mind #470 Romans 4:18-21
Romans 4:18-21
18 In hope, he believed against hope, that he should become the father of many nations, as he had been told, “So shall your offspring be.” 19 He did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body, which was as good as dead (since he was about a hundred years old), or when he considered the barrenness of Sarah’s womb. 20 No unbelief made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, 21 fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised.
While working as a respiratory therapist many years ago, I experienced what many have seen only in a movie or TV show. A man lying on his hospital bed suffered a heart attack. A paramedic jumped up on the bed and began CPR. Most of us standing nearby could only watch. Soon, we saw what the paramedic refused to accept: the patient wasn’t responding. The paramedic had saved many people by CPR, and he hoped he could save this man, but he had been too sick, his heart too damaged. It was hopeless. A physician came in and thanked the paramedic for trying, then pronounced him dead.
Actual hopelessness is rare in just one lifetime. There may not always be a silver lining, but hope helps us survive and move on. Losing a loved one suddenly is difficult. Learning of their death causes a “This can’t be real” battle in our hearts and minds. There is a part of us that hopes a mistake has been made or a miracle will happen. For many, some form of hope lingers until we realize they are gone. A truly hopeless situation takes time to sink in.
We also hope in promises, and when they are broken, we are heartbroken. We hoped for one thing but were disappointed. Human beings are always hoping for the best, and when a promise has been made, we hang on to our hope even more strongly.
As human beings, we are too often disappointed, fooled, taken advantage of, or, naively, put our trust in the untrustworthy. We hope for the best but brace to be let down. We become skeptical and suspicious. Who can we trust? Whose promise is worthy of our hope when there is no hope?
This is where Abraham found himself. Paul writes that he “in hope he believed against hope”. He was struggling to believe in something he and his peers could easily doubt. That is the human reaction without the power of the Spirit. Hoping when there is no visible evidence to hope in takes courage and sometimes desperation. Abraham hoped in God’s promise that he would become the father of many nations, as he had been told, “So shall your offspring be!
The “evidence” pointed to a “good as dead” old man and a barren old woman far beyond their childbearing years. They had only a promise from God without any evidence to give them assurance.
In the absence of evidence, faith must abound. Abraham did not weaken in faith when the odds seemed against his hopes. How did he do this? How can we learn to maintain strong faith when things seem hopeless? For Abraham, no unbelief made him waver concerning the promise of God! Abraham battled his doubts. He fought against unbelief. When we know in our heads that God keeps his promises, how do we make our hearts believe? No unbelief should make us waver!
Hopelessness isn’t intellectual; it is a heart response to what seems contrary to human reason. Thoughts of our own and thoughtless comments of others can trigger the growth of unbelief. Human reason often wins over faith. That is why many reject Christ; they limit themselves to what they understand and cannot allow themselves to give credibility to anything supernatural. It takes discipline and spiritual concentration to grow strong in our faith as we give glory to God, fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised.
There are three things we learn about finding hope when there is none to be found.
1. Strive to be fully convinced that God keeps His promise.
2. Do not weaken when evidence is unconvincing.
3. Give glory to God at all times.