Hope Against Hope!

My assistant, Pastor Brian, dropped this pretty awesome passage on me a few days ago, and it has really stuck with me since then...

Romans 4:18-21 - In hope against hope he believed, in order that he might become a father of many nations, according to that which had been spoken, "So shall your DESCENDANTS BE." [19] And without becoming weak in faith he contemplated his own body, now as good as dead since he was about a hundred years old, and the deadness of Sarah's womb; [20] yet, with respect to the promise of God, he did not waver in unbelief, but grew strong in faith, giving glory to God, [21] and being fully assured that what He had promised, He was able also to perform.

Isn't that just powerful? Abraham believed IN SPITE OF what seemed to be reality in the natural. That is the very battle that we are all in...to believe, to hope against hope, to trust in God so that we can see His word, which was spoken to us, to become a reality in in our lives. (In His time. -Ecclesiastes 3:11)

To dig a little deeper, try this quote on for size...St. Augustine said, "Understanding is the reward of faith. Therefore seek not to understand that thou mayest believe, but believe that thou mayest understand." Awesome! However, we do just the opposite, don't we? We want to have things become a reality, and then we will believe...but that is not how God works. He responds to our faith, and then the reality (or understanding) of our hope comes into existence.

The noble father, in John 4, exercised this kind of faith. He asked for Jesus to come to his house to heal his son, but Jesus just spoke the word and sent him on his way. So, for this dad, every step towards home was a literal "step of faith" and he found out that when you hope in God, and walk in faith, He works on your behalf. And he understood that faith does work when he heard that his son was healed. That is why he believed, and his whole household!

What are you facing today?

What are you going through that you need to apply some faith to?

Trust in God, and place your faith in Him!

Then, understanding will come your way! It may not be overnight...remember that Abraham waited for quite some time!