Being Sure of What We Hope For

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.” 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. 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. This is why “it was credited to him as righteousness.” Romans 4:18-22 NIV

Hope – such an important concept in our Christian walk. Abraham was given an incredible promise to be made into a nation, while he and Sarah were both childless and way beyond the normal age for conceiving and carrying a child. I am sure this first promise given by God in Genesis 12:2-3 gave this childless couple hope, but it also had to be quite a shock because Abraham was 75 and Sarah was 65 at that time.

It is important to keep in mind that within the culture Abraham and Sarah lived, a woman who was unable to have children was scorned, ridiculed, and mistreated. She would have endured this sort of treatment her entire adult life.

My husband and I were not able to conceive when we wanted to either; it took us four years to have our first child, so I know a little of the hopelessness that Sarah and Abraham must have felt. But I was not childless for very long. Sarah was 90 when she became pregnant with Isaac. It can be extremely overwhelming to think about wishing for a child, being promised a child, then waiting another 25 years for that child to be born.

God reaffirmed His promise to Abraham several times: in Genesis 12:7; He made a covenant with him in Genesis 15:5-21, God confirmed the covenant in Genesis 17:4-8 and changed their names to foreshadow it. He made the promise again in Genesis 18:18-19, and in Genesis 22:17-18. God confirmed the promise of becoming a great nation to Isaac in Genesis 26:2-4, to Jacob in Genesis 28:13-15, 35:11-12, 46:3, and to Moses in Exodus 3:6-8.

Hope – what it is: Hebrews 11:1-2 says,

Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. This is what the ancients were commended for.

In Romans 4:18 Paul says that Abraham had this kind of hope. He believed God would do what He said He would do. He had hope in the promise of God. Hope means to trust, believe, have faith in what God said that He would do, He will do. What about you? Do you have hope in God’s promises? Has God made a promise to you that has not yet been fulfilled? Do you need God to remind you of a promise He already made to you? If you want to do a deeper study on hope I found this article on hope to be helpful:  https://www.biblestudytools.com/dictionary/hope/ I find this hymn a good reminder of where our hope lies: https://youtu.be/QvBlrooUszQ