How many times we find ourselves living in that negative (but real world) of, It seems to be just one thing after another!
This pattern seems to create one big question. Can there be hope when there are no signs of any on the horizon? Are there simply not pockets of loneliness or defeat that would seem to officially cancel any reasonable expectation of hope?
One of the aspects of faith that I find so extremely legitimate is that what society needs most God offers most. The ancient one's, Abraham, trademark was that of hope. Hope when there was none to be calculated according to the human mind. This is where faith knocks at the doors of our hearts. Would you please open the door that I might show you an alternative way to living?, the gentle voice pleads.
By unexplainable (and really, unreasonable) perspective known as faith, the Bible says that Abraham went out not knowing where he was going. Really? Headed out to succeed...while directionless? Wouldn't this image be more of goof-ball than faith? And then later he and Sarah had their firstborn when they were the age of the baby's great-grandparents. Oh, that waiting period surely would have given them time to doubt God's promises of having a child. But, no, they would not quit hoping.
And then there's that other time when this newborn grew up to be a hunk of a young man and God asked Abraham to sacrifice this boy upon a woodpile. In his heart against hearts, Abraham prepared to do what God wanted with definite and incomplete unawareness as to what in the Heaven was going on here. Abraham did it; no assurance that this wasn't just his wild imagination, no manual, no counselor, no hint of reason why. And God intervened.
At one juncture Abraham and aged wife were childless with nothing but a promise from God that they would eventually become very key parents. Decades passed. No baby. In their what would have been their great-grandparent years, they were pregnant! And we want faith to fit our reasonable style? To ice the faith cake, this most treasured one God gave them was later required of God to be offered as a sacrifice...by his most aged dad.
What? They had waited oh so long. Just how dear, dear, extremely dear must this lad have been in mother's eyes? Say it ain't so God. Oh, please say it ain't so. Say we aren't hearing you correctly? But...okay...you gave him to us and we trust you...by faith...so....okay. We believe that even if he die, you know how to bring him back to life. Okay, God. We're okay with this.
We call this living with nothing more than a promise and a prayer. And, yes, we call this living! Don't be afraid to believe God at what may seem to be the most obviously wrong times.
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