“July 26, 2024 - Believing Against Hope”

Thursday, July 25, 2024

Believing Against Hope

Reading:  Romans 4:16-25
    
    Since the way all people can now be saved is through faith in Jesus, Christians do not seek to keep the Law of Moses but to “(share) the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all”(Rom 4:16).  God promised Abraham “I have made you the father of many nations”(Rom 4:17, Gen 17:5) and Paul says that this is fulfilled when Jews and Gentiles have a faith like his (not just when he has many great grandchildren!).  Yet all this started with Abraham and Sarah, a lonely nomadic couple past the age of childbearing.  Abraham trusted in the God “who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist”(Rom 4:17).  Just as Jesus calls unstable Peter a rock long before he becomes one, so God calls Abraham a father to many long before he becomes one.  Abraham believes him.

    Paul then discusses the challenge of Abraham’s faith.  “In hope he believed against hope”(Rom 4:18).  He knew there was no earthly cause for hope, given his own age and Sarah’s barrenness (Rom 4:19), yet he looked beyond what he saw.  “No unbelief made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God”(Rom 4:20).  Rather than beginning to doubt, Abraham became more convinced as time went by.  He was “fully convinced that God was able to do what he promised”(Rom 4:21).  This, Paul insists, is the faith that God counted as righteousness.  And Abraham’s faith shows us what our faith should be like—so that we can believe similarly in Jesus and find an even greater salvation.  

    I am intrigued by Paul’s phrase “in hope he believed against hope.”  At times God’s promises are hard to believe because our experience teaches us to expect something different.  Abraham and Sarah had no natural reason to ever expect a child.  Similarly, nothing in the current state of the world would lead us to believe that justice is coming, that God is in control, that we will live eternally, or that Jesus is coming back.  These are matters that we accept by faith, believing against hope that our good Savior lives and will fulfill his promises to us.

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One Thing to Think About:  How do I grow stronger in faith?

One Thing to Pray For:  The endurance to continue trusting God throughout my life 
 

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