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Romans 4:18
Who against hope believed in hope,
that he might become the
father of many nations, according to that which
was spoken, So shall thy seed
be. (KJV)
Do you have a dream
in your heart or a word that was spoken over your life?
Does it seem impossible right now? Does it look like
there's no way it can happen? Are you beginning to think
you're crazy for believing anyway? Don't worry; you're
not alone. Merriam Webster's Dictionary even defines
this type of hope as "hope against hope,"
which means hope without any basis for expecting
fulfillment.
If everything you
see in your life tells you to give up; it's too late;
you're not good enough anyway; you shouldn't have tried
in the first place; and yet, somewhere in the deep recesses
of your being, you still have hope, then you my friend,
are "hoping against hope."
Why do you still
believe when there is absolutely no reason for you to
believe? The answer is simply this--you have received
a gift from God...FAITH.
Now
read Romans 4:18 again and see yourself in the scripture:
(YOU), who against
hope believed in hope, that (YOU), might become (WHATEVER
GOD PROMISED YOU), according to that which was spoken,
So shall (IT) be.
Faith is the ability
to believe without a reason. Abraham, the father of faith,
did it, and so can we. Another version of the same scripture
reads this way...
Romans 4:18
Abraham was first named "father" and then became
a father because he dared to trust God to do what only
God could do: raise the dead to life, with a word make something
out of nothing. When everything was hopeless, Abraham believed
anyway, deciding to live not on the basis of what he saw he
couldn't do but on what God said he would do. (The Message)
Faith enables you
to receive for no reason. Why was Abraham able to have
a biological son when he was 100 years old and his 90-year-old
wife was barren? FAITH. But, this was only the beginning of
the vision. Having one son was not the complete promise; God's
vision for Abraham was that he would become the father of
many nations and that in him all nations of the earth would
be blessed. So, when God asked Abraham to sacrifice his only
son, Isaac, it didn't make any sense! If Abraham obeyed, how
would his seed ever outnumber the stars in the sky?
Faith empowers you
to obey without a reason. Even though Abraham couldn't
answer that question, he obeyed anyway. Remember, faith without
works is dead. (See James 2:17) Abraham verified his faith
by his obedience to God, even in the hard things. The final
qualification for Abraham to receive his miracle was his willingness
to sacrifice his sole reason to believe--his only son, Isaac.
- Faith is light
in complete darkness; it enabled Abraham to see a way
out of the situation. Abraham believed God could even raise
his son from the dead if necessary.
- Faith is clarity
in the chaos of conflicting emotions.
Abraham's faith overcame his fear of losing his only son.
- And finally, Hebrews
11:1 says, "Faith is the confident assurance that
something you really want is going to happen, even though
you cannot see it ahead." (God's Word Version).
Abraham did receive his
miracle. At the very last moment, God stepped in and provided
a sacrifice, in the place of Isaac. Isaac lived and had a
son called Jacob. Jacob lived and had a son called Judah;
and through the tribe of Judah, Jesus Christ was born. Now,
through Christ, people of all nations can be grafted into
the bloodline of Abraham by FAITH in the sacrifice Jesus made
on the cross. So, Abraham did in deed become the father of
many nations.
Now the question is this--will
you become who God has called you to be? The power is in your
hands, in your heart and in your mouth. Keep believing; keep
obeying; and keep speaking the word God said over your life
because...
Today's Life Principle:
Faith is the creative force that brings the thing you believe
or desire into existence.
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