Even when there was
no reason for hope, Abraham kept hoping… ~ Romans 4:18
When do we need hope?
We need it when the fulfilment of a promise isn’t done
instantaneously. We live in a world
where meals are cooked within minutes and whole conversations happen within the
exchange of just a few text messages.
When we are told to believe, to have faith, to wait and hope for the
answer, that doesn’t seem to compute with us.
But waiting is a good discipline to have.
I remember when Brad and I were learning about the value
of budgeting our money and understanding the difference between “needs” and
“wants.” One couple sat us down and said
that they needed new sod for their lawn.
They explained that until they could afford to pay cash—they didn’t use
credit cards to purchase anything—they were just going to save up for it. At the time, they tried to convey that we’d
appreciate our purchase more when we’d denied ourselves the instant buy and
saved up the money to make the purchase.
Honestly, we didn’t believe them until we tried it. Over time, we began to see not only how satisfying it was to actually be able to
“afford” to pay our bills through proper budgeting/spending habits, but we were
able to pay off our debts as well.
Abraham’s promise, however, took several decades to come
to pass. And that’s why this scripture says
that even when there was no reason to hope, he kept hoping. We are hoping for God to do many things in
our lives. But without God, it is
impossible for anyone of them to come to pass in our lives. What are you hoping will come true? What things has God promised you that are
impossible without hope in the One who made the promise? Spend some time with God today and tell Him
how much you need Him and that you trust Him to fulfill His promises, even if
they don’t come as instantly as your Happy Meal.
Father God, thank you that all things are possible with
you. Lord, I pray that we would look to
you for our answers, our needs, and our desires. Lord, there are things that we know You have
promised to us, and in our waiting, the enemy fights hard to get us to doubt
and quit. I pray that we would be bold
and remember that You are the same God who raised Christ from the dead and
called things that are not as though they were (Romans 4:17)! Thank you, Father, for being as bold in our
lives and calling out promises to be fulfilled from merely dreams and
desires. Father, give us that same bold
attitude today and always. In Jesus’
Name I pray, Amen.
Jesus looked at
them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with
God all things are possible.” ~ Matthew 19:26
