From Chronic Pain to Constant Praiseናሙና

Hope Against All Hope

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.” — Romans 4:18 (NIV)

Abraham is seen as a giant of faith, and his shoulders have been stood on for centuries by Jews and Christians alike. But have you ever thought about what would have happened if God didn’t come through for Abraham? He would have slaughtered his innocent son as a sacrifice.

Instead, his faith was credited to him as righteousness. When there was no hope left, Abraham believed “against hope.” What does it mean to believe against all hope? It means that even though you have no right to believe something will turn out for good, even though it goes against every good instinct you have, and even though you cannot force your mind to comprehend the lunacy of what God has asked you to do, you still hope. You hope against all hope.

Now I’m not telling you to go sacrifice your son because you believe God told you to. On this side of the cross, we know that the Holy Spirit will only speak things that do not contradict Scripture. Seek the truth of the Word that is alive and active within you. Seek counsel. But if you know God has told you to do something, stop waiting. Act in faith. Hope against all hope.

Before any miracle becomes a miracle, it is a complete and utter tragedy. Without the miracle, Noah would’ve been a madman with a giant boat, soldiers would’ve looked dumb walking in circles around a city called Jericho, and thousands of Israelites would’ve been struck down by an Egyptian army before the Red Sea. 

In my own story, I would have quit swimming, my shoulder would have continued to degenerate, and I would have, in the best case, lived with a quality of life reduced to insanity through pain, or in the worst case, succumbed to the temptation of taking my own life due to depression stemming from unending physical torment and what I thought was a rejected promise. 

At 19 years old, I couldn’t turn off a light switch without keeling over from pain. By the world’s standards, my story was a pathetic tragedy. But in God’s eyes, it was a miracle waiting to happen. He saw the healing surgery that would give me back my quality of life, the return to swimming I could never have imagined, and the book that would be written about his glory. 

We want a miracle without a tragedy. We want God to come through for us when we aren’t willing to even believe he can intervene. We want the resurrection without the crucifixion. 

If you’re facing a circumstance today that appears to be a tragedy, hang on. Grab hold of Jesus’ hand and let him lead you through the battle. Perhaps he is paving the way for a miracle.

God, I admit I haven’t seen how you could work this circumstance for my good, but your Word tells me that you can work anything together for good that I surrender to you. I don’t want my pain to be wasted, so I give it to you now and ask that you would redeem it. Recharge my faith where I’ve doubted your voice, and give me solid counsel from others if I am to have patience. I proclaim that I will one day praise you for turning this tragedy into a miracle. Amen.