Against all hope. Have you ever faced this kind of situation in your life? You can't possibly see an "out" to what you're going through? Things look so impossible that you don't know how you'll make it?
I can remember back when we first moved to Texas. We were faith-based missionaries, which means we raised all of our financial income from family and friends. When we moved here, we had about 80% of the support we needed, but within a few months, that dropped substantially. There was one Saturday evening that my husband came to me and said, "Well, do you want the good news or the bad news?" Now, if you know me, I hate that kind of thing. Just tell me like it is--and in a hurry! I noticed he had both hands filled with papers. He stretched out one hand and said, "Well, we have enough money to pay our tithe at church tomorrow and enough for our mortgage that's due on Monday." I kind of knew what was coming next, but I had to ask, "And the bad news?" Frank then outstretched the other hand and said we had about $1000 of bills that were due by Wednesday." Of course, we stopped and prayed for the situation, but not about what to do. I remember commenting that God didn't bring us all the way to Texas to ruin our perfect credit we had worked to maintain all our married life. No, we didn't pray for wisdom on what to do, that was a no-brainer, we would pay our mortgage and tithe.
What happened in the next 48 hours was something only God could do. You see, we told no one of our situation. Not a soul. But God knew, and He's the only One who counts. On Sunday morning, someone walked up to us with an envelope. He said that when he was praying the night before, the Lord told him to give that money to us. His family had never given to our ministry in the past, nor have they since. When we opened the envelope, we found $500 enclosed. Later at church, someone else gave us a check, and Monday morning in the mail, we had yet another check, received unexpectantly. On Wednesday, when our bills were due, we had exactly to the penny enough money to pay them. God is a pretty amazing mathematician, isn't He? I heard someone say this last weekend that He has Divine Math. That is the only way to explain how He worked in our situation that looked hopeless.
This morning I was reading in Romans chapter four, and my eyes were drawn to verses eighteen to twenty-one. "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.' Without weakening in his faith, he faced the fact that his body was as good as dead -- since he was about a hundred years old -- and that Sarah's womb was also dead. Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, being fully persuaded that God had power to do what He had promised."
If anyone was facing a hopeless situation, it was Abraham. But the Bible says that against all hope, he believed. He had almost everything going against him, he was old, his wife was not only old but also barren...key words: almost everything going against him. Because if God was for him, who could be against him? (Romans 8)
I don't know about you, but sometimes it's easy to lose focus on God's promises in my life. Sometimes I need just a little reminder of how providential God is. Patience in seeing God's plan is not my best virtue. I said it earlier, I hate surprises...just tell me like it is, so I can process things and deal with them. But God doesn't work like that, and even though it's against my nature, for that, I'm thankful. I'm glad He alone knows the future for me, and right now, I jut need to rest in His promises. There's hundreds of them throughout Scripture, but here's just a few I can think of:
Hebrews 13:5 "I will never leave you or forsake you."
Proverbs 1:33 "Whoever listens to me will live in safety and be at ease without fear of harm."
Matthew 11:28 "Come to me all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest."
Isaiah 40:29 "He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak."
Psalm 32:8 "I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go, I will counsel you and watch over you."
Jeremiah 29:13 "You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with your whole heart."
Philippians 4:7 "And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."
Lamentations 3:22-24 "Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning, great is Your faithfulness. I say to myself, 'The Lord is my portion; therefore, I will wait for Him.'"
Jeremiah 33:3 "Call unto Me and I will answer you and show you great and mighty things which you do not know."
I John 5:14 "This is the confidence we have in approaching God, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us."
I John 1:9 "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."
James 1:5 "If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him."
Zephaniah 3:17 "The Lord your God is with you, He is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you. He will quiet you with His love. he will rejoice over you with singing."
Psalm 147:3 "He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds."
Ephesians 3:20 "Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us."
Against all hope? No light at the end of the tunnel? Never, with God. I'm so thankful for God's Word, the Bible, and for the promises it contains. I definitely needed the reminder from Abraham this morning! My God is faithful!
---Beth Banfill
www.GodandMe2theMax.com