HOPE AGAINST HOPE

“You are the King and the Lord. You have always been my Hope. I have trusted in You ever since I was young… But I will always have hope. I will praise You more and more.” Psalm 71:5 & 14 NIRV

Our hope is in our King and Lord Jesus Christ. He is our hope. The word “hope” means earnest expectation; to anticipate or look forward to; to expect with confidence; to await an outcome. Hope is similar to a woman who is pregnant. We say, “She’s expecting.” She’s waiting for the day her child will be born. She’s confidently waiting and she knows the child will come. This is an illustration of “hope”.

Do you believe that Jesus is coming back one day? Do you believe that He has prepared a place in heaven just for you? Do you believe that after you die, you will be with the Lord forever? If yes, then you have hope. Don’t lose it! A sign that you’ve lost hope is when you stop expecting.

“Do not long for what sinners have. But always show great respect for the Lord. There really is hope for you tomorrow. So your hope will not be cut off.” Proverbs 23:17-18 NIRV

It’s important to have hope, but what I want to share with you is something called “hope against hope”. This is vital in your Christian journey. We’ve discussed what the word “hope” means. It’s equivalent to having a baby. But what if a person can’t have kids? In other words, we have hope in our Christian journey, but what do we do when the odds are against us?

Abraham was an old man when God told him that he would have a son. The odds were against him. His age was against him. His wife Sarah was way pass the child-bearing age. Everything was against him, but he didn’t lose hope. Read how Abraham responded.

“In hope he believed against hope, that he should become the father of many nations, as h

e had been told, ‘So shall your offspring be.’” Romans 4:18 ESV

The first line in the above verse is referring to the phrase “hope against hope”. This phrase means to hope when there

‘s little hope left; to hope against all odds; to want something keenly even when the odds against getting or achieving it are enormous; to hope without any basis for expecting fulfillment.

It’s good that you have hope. But throughout your spiritual journey, you will be faced with some hard troubles, tough challenges, and rough struggles from every side. You may get perplexed and think, “How can I get out of this?” You may not be able to imagine a positive end. That’s when you need to “hope against hope”. Put your hope in God, even when the odds are against you; even when the doctor’s report is fatal; even when you lose your job; even when your child gets arrested… You must keep your hope in God. And not only hope in Him, but know that He is your Hope. Read Romans 4:18-25 and let the Word build up your hope in Him:

^“God promised Abraham a lot of descendants. And when it all seemed hopeless, Abraham still had faith in God and became the ancestor of many nations. Abraham’s faith never became weak, not even when he was nearly a hundred years old. He knew that he was almost dead and that his wife Sarah could not have children. But Abraham never doubted or questioned God’s promise. His faith made him strong, and he gave all the credit to God.

Abraham was certain that God could do what He had promised. So God accepted him, just as we read in the Scriptures. But these Words were not written only for Abraham. They were written for us, since we will also be accepted because of our faith in God, Who raised our Lord Jesus to life. God gave Jesus to die for our sins, and He raised Him to life, so that we would be made acceptable to God.”

Romans 4:18-25 CEV

BILLIE MILLER “The Motivational Minister” is a Bible teacher, speaker, and the #1 Amazon Bestselling Author of “Life in Righteousness: The Word is Your Life” and “30 Days of Righteousness: The Word is Your Life Action Plan”. Thousands of lives have been changed through Billie’s powerful teachings. For more information please visit www.BillieMiller.com. Follow Billie on twitter (@BillieMiller7) and on Facebook (BillieMillerPage).