Thoughts:
Hope is a precious gift. With hope, many people have been able to endure great trials, tortures, and testings, and come out on the other side stronger and more resilent [read Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl for good examples of this during the holocaust].
One biblical example of this kind of hope is Abraham. God promised Abraham a son when Abraham was 75 years old [Genesis 12:1-4]. Ten years later, no son. So Abraham did what we all might do if we have faith that God will do something...we try to make it happen ourselves. So Abraham's wife Sarah, encourages Abraham to have a son the natural way with his maidservant Hagar [Genesis 16]. Trying to take it into his own hands only caused more problems down the road. Thirteen years after that, God reminds Abraham of His promise, twenty-four years ago and confirms it [Genesis 17]. From that point, it was another year before Abraham and Sarah had their promised son, Isaac [Genesis 21]. Finally, after a quarter of a century, God fulfills His promise.
With that background in mind, when it states in verse 18 that "[e]ven when there was no reason for hope, Abraham kept hoping..." it hits home in a more powerful way. Abraham was in the twilight of his life when God made this promise...and it didn't happen until 25 years later. I'm not sure about you but even though I've always tended to be a fairly hopeful person, believing God works all things together for good for those who love Him (Ro 8:28), I've been finding myself in a prolonged and challenging situation of about 5 years and I'm already giving up hope. Yet reading this passage today is a reminder from God of what is true and the ability of having faith and hope in the One True and Living God.
18 Even when there was no reason for hope, Abraham kept hoping—believing that he would become the father of many nations. For God had said to him, “That’s how many descendants you will have!”19 And Abraham’s faith did not weaken, even though, at about 100 years of age, he figured his body was as good as dead—and so was Sarah’s womb.
20 Abraham never wavered in believing God’s promise. In fact, his faith grew stronger, and in this he brought glory to God. 21 He was fully convinced that God is able to do whatever he promises. 22 And because of Abraham’s faith, God counted him as righteous. 23 And when God counted him as righteous, it wasn’t just for Abraham’s benefit. It was recorded 24 for our benefit, too, assuring us that God will also count us as righteous if we believe in him, the one who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead. [NLT]
There are a few things that stand out to me about this passage. First, Abraham's faith never weakened throughout that 25 years, even when the situation around him seemed impossible. Second, his faith grew stronger because He believed that God does whatever He promises, and this mindset brought glory to God. So if you ever find yourself asking what you can do to glorify God, strengthen your faith in God's promises and see what happens. Finally, his hope and faith in God's promise wasn't only for his benefit but also for all those who came after him. It's important to be reminded that our actions and what we do (in this case, our belief and trust in God's promises) will be for the benefit of others in the future.
Q & A:
If Abraham never wavered in believing God's promise, then why did he have a son with Hagar at Sarah's behest?
Yes, when Abraham tried forcing the timing of God's promise, it could be seen as a time of limited faith. However, to give Abraham some slack, God said the promised child would come from Abraham but didn't mention Sarah [Genesis 15]. Also, it was customary of the day that heirs would sometimes come from maidservants. Here is an example of God giving a promise but not the details of it. We see Abraham trying to work out the promise in the natural means of what he knew. All throughout it though, we see Abraham's continued upward faith in God. God had enough grace to cover Abraham's failed attempts at fulfilling the promise in natural ways, but Abraham (and future generations) had to live with the consequences of it (i.e. the continued war between arab nations and Israel)
Prayer:
Father, thank you for Your promises that you have given to us in Scriptures. Sometimes it's hard to believe and hold on to those promises because the distractions and situations in life seem to great. However, let us be reminded that there is nothing in this life that can separate us from Your love and that Your promises will never fail. May we have the ability to be like Abraham who never wavered in his belief that You will do what You say and even more so, see our faith strengthened, for our benefit and for our posterity. You are a great God and a fulfiller of all Your promises in Your perfect timing. All praise be to You. In Jesus' name Amen.
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