A Man Of Hope - Abraham

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!”

Romans 4:18

A father arrived late to his son’s Little League baseball game, missing the entire top half of the first inning. When he sidled up to the dugout and asked his son for the score, the boy beamed, “We’re behind 16-0. But that’s okay. We haven’t even had a chance to bat yet!”

That boy demonstrated a biblical idea of hope by maintaining a sense of expectancy even when the circumstances suggested packing it in and giving up.

Abraham knew a lot about hope.

At the ripe old age of seventy-five, Abraham clearly heard God’s voice promising to make him the father of many nations and countless descendants. Yet almost a quarter of a century later, Abraham and his wife, Sarah, still had no children.

What would you think if you had been Abraham?

Humanly speaking, Abraham had every reason to wonder if God had forgotten his promise. He was closing in on his hundredth birthday, and his wife trailed him by only a decade. It’s not hard to imagine Abraham asking God, “Say, Lord, did you overlook something here?”

Somehow, Abraham didn’t lose hope but steadfastly clung to the faith that justified him before God, according to the Bible. He remained utterly convinced that the God he had faithfully followed and served would keep all his promises.

True to that expectation, God blessed Abraham and his wife with a son named Isaac. In so doing, he made the father of the Israelites into an example of the hope that never disappoints a man. As God later said through Isaiah, “Those who trust in me will never be put to shame” (Isaiah 49:23).

Has God given you an as-yet-unfulfilled promise in some area of your life? Have you grown weary in waiting? The Bible encourages you to have hope, which means to believe firmly in the God who always keeps his promises. Continue to trust in him and persevere in all he has called you to do until he fulfills that promise.