AGAINST ALL HOPE, YET IN HOPE BELIEVED

Romans 4:18

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."

My eight year old daughter Amanda and I have been playing a game recently -- it's called "Opposites". We look for examples of when we are told to do something that's the reverse of what we should do. We were watching a television program the other night when an advertisement for furniture came on. The announcer said: "The more you buy the more you save!" Amanda thought about it for a moment and started laughing. She said: "No! That's not right. The more you buy the more you lose your money. It's the opposite!" Sometimes I am so amazed at the wisdom of my little girl.
In our passage today, Paul tells us: "Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed..." This type of hope would appear on the surface to fall within the rules of Amanda's "Opposite" game. In other words, why hope for something that's impossible to hope for? It seems to defy the definition of the word: "hope equals confident desire, or likelihood of success". Unless we look at the author of Abraham's hope -- the Lord God Almighty. Is anything impossible for God?

Too often I hear Christians say: "I can't pray for _________ because I don't believe it's possible." Since when did our concept of what is possible ever limit what God can do? Do you need to hope for something (healing, job, finances, etc.) that is against all hope? Maybe your human nature tells you it is impossible. I would suggest following Abraham's example: Hope against all hope and believe God's promises -- the Bible is full of them.
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