Today’s 333 Devotional: “A Hope To Believe In”

I remember seeing a bumper sticker years ago saying, “God said it, I believe it, that settles it.”

This is the faith of Abraham that gave him hope when circumstances seemed otherwise.

His testimony reads, “Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as it had been said to him, ‘So shall your offspring be.’” (Romans 4:18)

Abraham only had God’s promised word, to go on. “Against all hope,” means just that. Abraham was past all hope of ever having a son through Sarah, or for that matter himself, at least as far as the world was concerned. But still Abraham held out hope, because His hope wasn’t in himself or in anyone else, rather his hope was in God and His word of promise, “so shall your offspring be.” (Genesis 15:5)

Abraham’s situation seemed hopeless. Both he and Sarah’s reproductive capabilities were in essence dead. They had no hope humanly speaking of ever having a child.

“Without weakening in his faith, he faced the fact that his body was as good as dead–since he was about a hundred years old–and that Sarah’s womb was also dead.” (Romans 4:19)

Can you imagine the type of faith it took to believe in the impossible? Can you imagine the type of relationship Abraham had with God that he could take God at His word in spite of the evidence?

Yet, Abraham’s faith didn’t waiver, nor did He question whether God could fulfill what He had promised.

“Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised.” (Romans 4:20-21)

This is the hope that we can have, and a hope that is worthy and sure, and that is what God has promised He will see it through. And so, against all hope in hope believe.