How Strong Is Your Trust in the Promises of God?
Thinking about Romans 4:18.
Who [Abraham], contrary to hope, in hope believed, so that he became the father of many nations, according to what was spoken, "SO SHALL YOUR DESCENDANTS BE." (Romans 4:18)
Abraham believed in the promises of God - even though every physical sign pointed to the fact that he would never have children with his wife, Sarah.
He believed “against” (beyond) hope. Humanly speaking, what did he have going for him? A body now as good as dead (though he wasn’t particularly old) and a wife who couldn’t bear children. There were no grounds for hope here. But he had God’s word for it and that gave him hope when the ordinary grounds for hope didn’t exist. He was walking by faith rather than sight. - McGuiggan, Romans, 151-152
He “hoped against hope.” He didn’t allow his doubt to overcome the promise of God. His faith was a devoted trust to what God said - even if he didn’t know how God’s promises would come to pass.
To hope against hope means not giving in to doubt, no matter how impossible the situation seems. Abraham knew that God would fulfill what He had promised and that, in some unimaginable way, he would become the father of many nations. God promised, and Abraham believed that promise. - Pollard, Truth for Today Commentary, 152
Abraham became the “father of the faithful” because of his persistent trust in God’s promises. Even when the situation seemed hopeless, Abraham clung to the promises of God and would not let go.
Abraham’s faith stands in stark contrast to the immorality, corruption, and unfaithfulness of those who turned to idols in chapter 1. It also sharply contrasts with faithless Israel depicted in 2:17-3:20. Abraham embodied the essence of what it meant to be faithful to God when all of the “facts” seemed to point in another direction, even to the point of offering the very son that was promised (Genesis 22). - Pollard, Truth for Today Commentary, 152-153
The Hebrews writer speaks of those like Abraham who “received the promises” but only saw them “afar off” (Hebrews 11:13-16). They didn’t see with their own eyes in this life the fulfillment of everything God promised - and yet they had faith in the promises of God (Hebrews 11:1, 6).
We have the completed revelation of God - the Bible. What He has said is what should build and strengthen our faith (Romans 10:17).
There are some promises of God that we will never be able to see with our own eyes in this life.
So what will we do?
Will we throw up our hands in despair and say, “That’s impossible! I can’t use one of my senses to experience that!” Or will we cling to the promises of God the same way Abraham did?
Will we have the faith of Abraham?