Hope against Hope

“And it came to pass that Abram looked forth and saw the days of the Son of Man, and was glad, and his soul found rest, and he believed in the Lord; and the Lord counted it unto him for righteousness. … Therefore ye are justified of faith and works, through grace, to the end the promise might be sure to all the seed; not to them only who are of the law, but to them also who are of the faith of Abraham; who is the father of us all, … Who against hope believed in hope, that he might become the father of many nations, according to that which was spoken,”
– Genesis 15:12, Romans 4:16,18

Paul tells us that Abraham believed God. (Romans 4:3) His faith was strong. He didn’t just believe in God. He believed God. The difference is significant and profound. Many profess a belief in God and we are commanded to do so (Mosiah 2:13), but struggle at times with believing what God says or promises that he will do or accomplish. This is especially true when what he declares seems, at least with our poor reach of mind, to be difficult, unlikely or merely metaphorical.

Paul beautifully encapsulates this view of Abraham’s faith at the beginning of Romans 4:18. He says, “Who against hope believed in hope” The contrast between “against hope” and “in hope” teaches us something really fundamental about faith. Most of us will recall the circumstances that Paul is talking about from Genesis: the life of Abraham and Sarah. Sarah [was] barren, Abraham [was] very old, and yet God promises that they are going to have a son—a promise that, from an earthly standpoint, seemed absolutely impossible to ever be fulfilled. This was against hope. This was against the evidence of this world that Abraham believed. His belief, therefore, was in a different kind of hope, a hope not related to the circumstances of this life, but a hope in the God who had made a promise to him, believing that God would be faithful, able to fulfill His promise.

The terms hope and faith are related, but they are not the same. Hope is a desire for something that might be true or might happen, whereas faith is the firm confidence that it is true or will happen. The letter to the Hebrews teaches that “faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not see.” Abraham had hope when, from a purely human standpoint, there was absolutely no basis or justification for hope. Yet despite what seemed impossible, he believed it would happen as God said. His believe gave him an assurance of what was hoped for which in turn gave him a strong faith. The object of his faith was God, and in particular God’s promise of an heir by Sarah.

In our day, the promises of “a land of peace, a city of refuge, a place of safety for the saints of the most high God” (Sec. 45:12c) seem from an earthly standpoint distant, unreachable, improbable and unlikely. Our belief must be strong against all this hope so that in hope (of God’s promises) our faith is made strong. Abraham confronted the stubborn fact that Sarah was barren by believing God. We must confront the stubborn fact that world is barren and does not seem to be able to give birth to the kingdom of God by believing that God will yet accomplish his purposes.

Abraham did not vacillate between faith and doubt, he did not waver in unbelief. Paul’s words put it beautifully; “He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God.” (Romans 4:20) Just like Abraham, we too can trust in the promises of God, especially in those promises of an earthly kingdom and in his return as king of kings and lord of lords. His word will not return unto him void. Every jot and tittle will be fulfilled.