Pastor Barry's  "Chapter & Verse"  Day 275

October 2;      Romans 4:18;       121/260(III);        ‘Without Hope He Hoped’

Romans 4:18 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."        NIV

Abraham and his wife Sarah were childless.  Now they were elderly and in the natural the hope for children was gone.  The Lord spoke to Abraham and told him that he would indeed have a son.  It took Abraham and Sarah some time to believe what the Lord said, but as time went on they did.  The Lord put Abraham to sleep and God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ made a covenant together that Abraham got in on by faith.  Once this happened Abraham choses to believe the Lord.  Abraham was not perfect, he lied twice, telling foreign leaders Sarah was his sister, so these leaders would not kill him.  He also got ahead of the Lord and fathered a son through Sarah’s handmaid, Hagar.  In spite of his imperfections, the Lord loved Abraham and as their relationship grew, Abraham’s hope turned into faith, and indeed Isaac the son of Abraham and Sarah was born.  The vital truth is that once the Lord speaks to your heart, you can have hope that what He said will come to pass.  Regardless of what may be seemingly impossible, as with Abraham.  Nothing is too difficult for the Lord.  Again, just as with Abraham, as you continue to fellowship with the Lord that hope in what He has spoken to your heart, will turn to faith and you will receive what you have been told will be yours.  Natural hope can turn into ‘spiritual’ hope which in turn will turn into faith as you continue to walk close to the Lord.  The Lord does exactly what He says.