TODAY’S SCRIPTURE Romans 4:16-25
Many people spend their entire lives, most of their energy, and the better part of their health trying to feel secure. With a dynamic education, a robust investment portfolio, and plenty of space at the house for the stuff we accumulate, our hope is that this will give us what we need to feel established and therefore happy. Can you even imagine what it must have been like for Abraham when God approaches him?
At seventy-five years old, Abraham is told by God that his life is really only beginning. He has the retirement in place, he has a comfortable piece of property, and he has plenty of family around to be content. But God insists that if he would be open to the new things God is doing, he could not even imagine the good things that God has in store. Abraham packs up his things, says goodbye to his family, and heads off for a place he has never been, with only God to guide him.
Abraham is now known as the father of all who come to God in faith, because he absolutely trusts that God could do and would do whatever God promises to do. Paul says that Abraham knew God could give life to dead things and call into existence things that do not exist (Romans 4:17). This is what Christian hope is all about: trusting in a God who does not share our limitations.
The word hope gets tossed around as a sort of baseless wish. “It would be nice if that were to happen, but who knows?” For us, real hope begins right where we are. Whether you are the established person who thinks you already did everything you could do, or you are the person who feels like much of your life, your goals, or even your marriage is as good as dead much like Abraham, the message of Christian hope is that you are not stuck that way. In fact, when you say “yes” to God with all your strength, you might discover that your real life has not even begun.
Today, I will…open myself up to God in prayer, to ask God what it is that He is inviting me to next. I will trust that God will deliver on what God has promised.
