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Against All Hope
Scripture
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.” 19 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. 20 Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, 21 being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised.
Observation
The story of Abraham and Sarah is an amazing story of unbelievable faith. Can you imagine being promised by God that you would be the father of many nations and yet at a hundred years later you still haven’t been able to have children? The Bible said that Abraham’s body was good as dead and Sarah’s womb was dead. So what are the odds that they could still have children? Yet Abraham did not waver he was fully persuaded that God had power to do what He had promised.
Kathy tells me that the surgeon told her that I had less than a 5 % chance of surviving from surgery to the ICU floor. Yet Kathy and all my brothers and sisters in Christ, against all hope never quit believing. They were fully persuaded that God had power to do what He had promised. I told Kathy just a few minutes ago that I don’t think I could have been as strong as she was during this whole thing. I believe what she went through was a lot more difficult than what I experienced or am experiencing right now.
It must have been a terrible moment for my family when they asked Kathy and my children to come in and see me. They asked them to come in and see while I was still alive because the doctors and nurses thought my death was imminent. And then to make it even worse they had to be ushered out of the room because I had quit breathing and they had to shock me back to life.
I can’t imagine how hard it was for Kathy when the nurse came out during the surgery and handed Kathy my wedding ring. It was a ring that she had bought for me when we were 18 years old and it has never been off of my finger. When I woke up it was one of the first things I saw was my wedding ring on one of Kathy’s fingers. Kathy celebrated our 42nd wedding anniversary out in the waiting room with all my brothers and sisters in Christ. They brought her a cake and her favorite food – tacos! Kathy’s sister and nieces gave us a gift card for our anniversary to Bern’s Steak House that we are going to enjoy just as soon as I get back on my feet.
Kathy was able to be as strong as she was because of her faith and because so many people were there with her helping her through each difficult day. I am so thankful for every person that came to our rescue and they did it in so many different ways. I have so many cards to read. We have had so much food brought to us. We have had so many different people giving us tokens of their love in so many different ways. Our sidewalk in front of our house has chalk messages written from people that care about us and wanted to express their love in a fun way.
So remember…with God all things are possible. Never give up hope. Against all hope is just the place where God works best. I am reminded again that nothing is too hard for Him.
Application
I will not quit praying for the seemingly impossible things in my life. I will not quit praying for my nephew Jonathan who is still in a coma like condition and has been for the past 4 years. Against all hope I will continue to believe that God has power to do what he had promised.
Prayer
Heavenly Father, the story of Abraham and Sarah reminds me of Your Mighty power. It reminds me of how much You love us. It reminds me of Your Faithfulness. Over and over again in the scriptures You do what to us is totally impossible. And over and over again You challenge us to have more and more faith. I have learned a huge lesson about prayer through this ordeal. I am so glad that so many people kept praying for me even though all the reports that first week were so negative and gloomy. It was against all hope that Kathy and I don’t even know how many other people around the world cried out to You. They believed that You had the power to do what You had promised. You know how grateful I am. Bless Kathy. Bless my children and bless my grand children. May this be a spiritual lesson that they will always remember. Bless our church and all the other churches that cried out for You to save me. I am fully persuaded that You had power to do what You had promised.
Today’s "Life Journal" Daily Bible Reading can be found on Line. Click Here!
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