Hope Against All Hope

Do you ever feel like there is no hope? It's not an uncommon feeling. I mean, the world kind of sucks sometimes. The economy is in the gutter. Gas prices are through the roof. Politicians bicker and fight, yet seem to accomplish little. Maybe your grades are bad or you got dumped or didn't get the raise/promotion that you wanted at work. In the end, all this kind of stuff just seems to pile up and it feels like the end is never in sight. Yet, I would argue that there is always hope.

"18 Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as it had been said to him, 'So shall your offspring be.'" -Romans 4:18, NIV

You see, things didn't always go so great for Abraham, either. Like us, Abraham and his wife Sarah wanted things to "work out." I mean, who doesn't? Abraham had been told by God that he would be made into a great nation, with offspring as numerous as the stars. The only problem was that Abraham was really old; as in, senior citizen old. The dude would have long been on AARP, and yet God's over here telling him that he's going to have a kid. Do you think it was hard for Abraham to trust that promise? My vote is yes.

Yet, against all that, Abraham stayed fast and hoped that God would provide for him a son. Yeah, the odds were against him, but with God, nothing is impossible.

Are the odds against you? Do you need to hope against all hope that God will come through for you?