God of our faith, grant a double-portion of faith to the heart of this dear reader in all they may face today. In Christ Jesus' name, amen.
Romans 4:13-25: 13 For the promise to Abraham or to his descendants that he would be heir of the world was not through the Law, but through the righteousness of faith. 14 For if those who are of the Law are heirs, faith is made void and the promise is nullified; 15 for the Law brings about wrath, but where there is no law, there also is no violation. 16 For this reason it is by faith, in order that it may be in accordance with grace, so that the promise will be guaranteed to all the descendants, not only to those who are of the Law, but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all, 17 (as it is written, "A FATHER OF MANY NATIONS HAVE I MADE YOU") in the presence of Him whom he believed, even God, who gives life to the dead and calls into being that which does not exist. 18 In hope against hope he believed, so that he might become a father of many nations according to that which had been spoken, "SO SHALL YOUR DESCENDANTS BE." 19 Without becoming weak in faith he contemplated his own body, now as good as dead since he was about a hundred years old, and the deadness of Sarah's womb; 20 yet, with respect to the promise of God, he did not waver in unbelief but grew strong in faith, giving glory to God, 21 and being fully assured that what God had promised, He was able also to perform. 22 Therefore IT WAS ALSO CREDITED TO HIM AS RIGHTEOUSNESS. 23 Now not for his sake only was it written that it was credited to him, 24 but for our sake also, to whom it will be credited, as those who believe in Him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead, 25 He who was delivered over because of our transgressions, and was raised because of our justification.
Heir of the world! How would you like that as a title? "I'm so glad to meet you, my name is Abraham, and I am 'heir of the world.'" So Paul saw the title given to the Father of the Faith, Abraham. And Paul says, it was because of faith not the Law or anything that Abraham did or could have done, that the whole world was promised to him. Such is our title indeed; for all that Jesus did on our behalf, we are heirs of something better than just the world, we are heirs to the Kingdom of God. And it is nothing that we did or could do, other than to believe. And notice that Paul knows, as we should as well, just Who this God is that has made such a relationship with Him possible; "God, who gives life to the dead and calls into being that which does not exist." I don't know about you, but I'm impressed! Would not this God with such powers be one to hold onto His promises to us?
The next verse is interesting as well. Paul knew the difficulty of believing in something that required a lot of faith on our part. Paul writes, "In hope against hope he (Abraham) believed, in order that he might become a father of many nations, according to that which had been spoken,"So shall your descendents be." At a point where Abraham was as good as dead, and so was his wife, Sarah, he believed and trusted, and he was blessed.
What "hope against hope" do you need today? Sunday I shared but a short list of the things that come into our lives that show how weak we really are, and we shared about how God's Word speaks of God being our strength. Our call today is to hope against hope, to rise above what the world or science or medicine might say, to that which God says. This Sunday I spent all afternoon alone with Saraí Evangelina, my two-year old granddaughter. I was surprised she heard that I was going to stay home when all the rest were to go shopping. My plan was to get some rest, perhaps a nap. She promptly came and sat next to me on the sofa and said, "I'm staying with Granpa!" What a delightful afternoon we spent, watching "Nemo," playing with Granma's exercise ball, and her favorite sitting at the table and playing with PlayDoh. One of the canisters of the clay was rolling off the table and I quickly grabbed for it and said, "Hey, get back over here!" That made Saraí laugh with delight. So, I said it again. More laughter. Yesterday, Tuesday, after coming home for school she ran through the house saying, "Hey, get back over here, Granpa says!, Hey, get back over here, Granpa says!" And laughing.
What do we remember that God says, especially about what we may be facing right now?
PRAYER: Loving God of hope, speak to our hopelessness and our brokeness; truly let us hope against hope, for we put our trust in You. May Your Spirit move in and through and in spite of us, towards that which You have promised. We ask that You have the last word in that which we face. We pray in Christ Jesus' name, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord!
Eradio Valverde
