When in Doubt, Hope

"Against hope, with hope he believed, so that he became the father of many nations, according to what had been spoken: So will your descendants be" (Rom. 4:18, HCSB).

This is one of my favorite verses in Scripture. I love the language "against hope, with hope he believed." The "he" in this verse is Abraham. Paul is trying to explain Abraham's faith. How is a hundred year old man supposed to believe that he could have a child with his ninety year old wife?

Some would deny Abraham's story. They call it a legend. Yet, I find no reason to believe that they are correct. The birth of Isaac to the aged Abraham and Sarah isn't hard to believe. It is no more difficult to believe than the presidency of Washington. I trust the witnesses.

Abraham looked at his life (and his wife) realistically. Even in his pre-scientific era, they understood enough about biology to know the promise could never be fulfilled "naturally." Sarah was past the age of childbearing. But with eyes of faith, Abraham understood that the One who had fashioned Sarah's womb could fashion a child in it.

There were a thousand reasons he shouldn't have believed the promise. It was against hope. The evidence was certain-people their age didn't have babies. But there was one reason that drove Abraham to believe. The promise was spoken by Almighty God.

God could not tell a lie. Abraham didn't need to know all the details. He just needed to know the character of the Promise-Giver. He knew that God was holy and true. So he pushed on through the doubt, and "with hope he believed."

Life hasn't changed all that much. There are still thousands of reasons to doubt. We don't believe the promise because every aspect of it has been explained. We don't believe the promise because we can understand it fully. We believe the promise because it was spoken by Almighty God. He cannot lie. We rest in his unchanging holiness, and we praise him.

You might be struggling with doubts right now. You know the Lord has promised to love and forgive you. You know he said he would never leave you. But you aren't sure. Everything in you life seems to be suggesting that there is no hope for you. Take a cue from Abraham, and against hope, with hope believe. Jesus won't let you down.