In hope he believed against hope, that he should become the father of many nations, as he had been told, “So shall your offspring be.” (Romans 4:18, ESV)
You may not be one of those golf watchers who gets excited when one player is leading by a lot. You want close competition, no matter who wins. But in truth, when it comes to blowouts, we are all “homers.” We love sitting back and watching our favorite players and teams win easily. It’s the best of two worlds: the winner we want and the anxiety we don’t. So if Webb Simpson is your guy, you had to be feeling pretty good going into Sunday at THE PLAYERS.
But you know who wasn’t so enthused? The rest of the field. No one had ever lost a PGA Tour event when leading by seven shots (Simpson’s lead) or more after 54 holes. They were all, you might say, hoping against hope.
God’s hope was something Abraham could cling to when his hopes in the world were all but gone.This is an odd expression, isn’t it? If we’re hoping against hope, do we really carry any hope at all? And if we are, just what kind of hope is it that we’re against?
Paul’s letter to the Romans might both untangle this common yet awkward phrasing and allow us to see how God works in the midst of the world we live in.
Abraham was an old man. Biologically speaking, he was past the time when either he or his wife would normally be able to produce children. This was a heartbreak for them both, but especially for Sarah, as barrenness was a particular shame to women in the ancient world. The couple lacked any realistic hope that something they desired most in the world could ever happen to them.
But those who know God might always be said to possess two kinds of hope: the hopes of this world and the hopes God promises. These second hopes come from “him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think” (Ephesians 3:20)—which is a sign both of his greatness but also of our hesitation.
As it was, God showed up to promise Abraham and Sarah that he was giving them a hope that outreached what their natural selves told them was possible. They would have a child. More than this, the child would continue Abraham’s sudden legacy as the progenitor of nations.
This was hope against hope. That is, God’s hope was something Abraham could cling to when his hopes in the world were all but gone.
Now we have come to a place thousands of years later, where you and I fall into the line of faith started by Abraham. And here we must ask ourselves whether we dare hope as Abraham did. In spite of our sin, do we believe that we are saved by the righteousness of Christ? Against the tide of existentialism, do we trust that we will live forever with the King of all kings? The world would tell us we have no such hope. God says we do. And when we take up his promises in faith, we have become like Abraham, recognizing the greater lasting hope of eternity against the hope that would disappoint us in the end.
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Jeff Hopper
May 22, 2018
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The Links Daily Devotional appears Monday-Friday at www.linksplayers.com.