Contrary To Hope, In Hope Believed

Written by Benjamin Chong

“Who, contrary to hope, in hope believed, so that he became the father of many nations…”
- Romans 4:18

These were the inspirational words of commendation given by the Apostle Paul to Abraham for the faith which he possessed. In Romans 4, Paul uses Abraham’s faith as the benchmark against which we ought to measure our faith. If we are looking for an example of faith, we will find it in this Patriarch.

How can we differentiate between faith and hope? Faith is believing in an objective premise or truth. When we say we have faith in God, we mean to say we believe God and His word. On the other hand, hope is a present expectation of a future event. Faith and hope are inextricably linked. It is through the exercise of faith in the promises of God that hope is generated within a person.

In this article, we want to look at how Abraham’s faith stirred up within him a hope that was sure and steadfast, a hope that withstood any daunting circumstances which life threw at him.

The main text which Paul used to describe the faith of Abraham is Romans 4:17–21, and is set out below.

“(As it is written, “I have made you a father of many nations”) in the presence of Him whom he believed—God, who gives life to the dead and calls those things which do not exist as though they did; who, contrary to hope, in hope believed, so that he became the father of many nations, according to what was spoken, “So shall your descendants be. And not being weak in faith, he did not consider his own body, already dead (since he was about a hundred years old), and the deadness of Sarah’s womb. He did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully convinced that what He had promised He was also able to perform."
- Romans 4:17–21 

The steps of Abraham’s faith are summarised as follows:

1.A faith that begins with God

2.Contrary to hope, in hope believed

3.Not being weak in faith

4.Not wavering at the promise of God through unbelief

5.Strengthened in faith

6.Fully convinced

While it would be false to draw distinct lines between each step of faith because the steps are bound to overlap and affect one another, we can trace in Abraham’s life a general growth of faith in accordance with these themes.

Hope always begins with the giver of hope – God. God came to Abraham with a very special promise. In Genesis 12, God promised Abraham that He would make a great nation of him. Abraham believed God, and acted on his faith by obeying God’s command to leave his country and his family. This act of faith in itself warranted an important commendation from the author of the book of Hebrews in Hebrews 11:8,

“By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going.”
- Hebrews 11:8 

Two aspects of God must have stood out in particular to believing Abraham – (1) God’s power; and (2) God’s person. There are two important questions which Abraham had to ask himself – the first is whether God could keep His promise, and the second is whether He would.

The first question – could God keep His promise? Abraham believed so, because He believed that God had the power to do so. Thus, it was of little concern to him of how this promise would eventually be fulfilled. God’s promise to Abraham as contained in Genesis 12 contained little detail as to the manner in which God would fulfil His promise. It was only in Genesis 15 – 21 that we see more specifics as to how the promise is to be carried out. Yet, Abraham trusted that God had the power to carry out what He promised. He did not need the details. He did not need all the “hows” to be answered before he believed God. In Romans 4: 17, Paul stated that this God was one “who gives life to the dead and calls those things which do not exist as though they did”. Abraham certainly believed that God was more than capable of doing these things.

The second question – would God keep His promise? Abraham’s answer was “Yes”, because he believed in the person of God. He believed that it was impossible for God to lie[1]. He was confident that God could and would carry out the promises made to him. Thus, he did just as the Lord had commanded him.

Abraham had a wonderfully high view of God. The strength of hope which one possesses lies with one’s understanding of the Giver of hope. Abraham’s hope stems directly from God’s person and His power. Our hope must also be rooted in God, for this is the starting point of hope.

The hope that we can potentially have in God is meant to be an anchor for the soul, both sure and steadfast[2], but the hope we often find ourselves with is weak. Why is this so? The reason is that hope is dynamic; it can grow stronger, but it can also be badly assailed by the circumstances of life. Hope can only grow when we exercise faith to believe God in spite of impossible circumstances.

In Genesis 15, we see Abraham expressing concern about how God’s promises would be fulfilled if he were childless. One can almost sense Abraham’s frustration as he cried out to God with these words in Genesis 15: 2 and 3,

"But Abram said, “Lord GOD, what will You give me, seeing I go childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?” Then Abram said, “Look, You have given me no offspring; indeed one born in my house is my heir!”"
- Genesis 15:2, 3 

There were two problems here; the first was that both Abraham and his wife Sarah were getting on in years. Abraham’s age was not mentioned in Genesis 15, but it would be reasonable to assume that at least a few years had passed since he first acted on God’s commandment at seventy-five years old. He was probably close to eighty years old. Even for an Old-Testament lifespan[3], this was past the childbearing age[4]. The second problem was that Abraham’s wife Sarah was barren[5]. She and Abraham could not have any children up till then. Their chances were certainly not getting any better as they grew older. At this point, uncertainty of the future and impatience sought to assail the faith of Abraham.

However, Abraham was not one to give in so easily. Even if all his circumstances seemed contrary to hope, he would rather believe in hope than to let it be affected by his circumstances. That was the faith of Abraham. Paul continues to explain why his faith was as tenacious as it was Romans 4: 19 – 21.

Firstly, Abraham was not weak in faith. A weak faith is one that limits God. It looks at the person and power of God and says, “I believe God, but that’s just impossible.” Abraham did not take such a stance. To Abraham, physical possibilities and impossibilities were wholly in the hands of God. It was because of Abraham’s high view of God that he was able to have such a faith.

Secondly, Abraham never wavered in the face of unbelief. Unbelief is exactly as it says – it means to disbelieve God. We need to distinguish firm and concrete unbelief from the negative feelings we may have from time to time. To have hope does not mean one is not allowed to feel uncertain of the future, to feel impatient, or even to feel discouraged from time to time. Most certainly, even Abraham himself had to struggle with these feelings as he waited twenty-five long years for the child through whom God would establish His covenant[6]. The trouble with these feelings is that they can lead us to the point of unbelief – that is where the problem begins. Hope begins with the exercise of faith in God’s word of promise, but as the circumstances of life grow difficult, hope can only be sustained when we constantly and actively fight off unbelief by choosing to exercise faith instead.

This was what Abraham chose to do. The difficult circumstances made the temptation to disbelieve God ever so strong. Abraham stood firm against unbelief, he was not shaken, and he certainly did not waver at the promise of God.

The interesting thing about faith is that it works like a muscle, the more it is exercised, the stronger it becomes. As Abraham exercised his faith in God’s promises and stood firm against unbelief, he found his faith strengthened even further. Each time he exercised faith, his faith, and consequently the hope within him, grows stronger and stronger, to the point where he was fully convinced of God’s person, God’s power, and God’s promises.

Later in Abraham’s life we see how the hope within Abraham grew as he exercised faith time and again. The most famous story of Abraham is probably found in Genesis 22, when God tested Abraham by asking him to sacrifice Isaac his son to Him. Imagine what must have been going through Abraham’s mind. He had waited twenty-five long years for his son Isaac to be born to him – the son through whom God’s covenant to him would be fulfilled. Now, God was asking him to sacrifice his son? Why?

Yet, Abraham knew that God’s promise was to establish his covenant with Isaac. Even if he were to kill Isaac, he knew that God was able to raise him from the dead, in order that He may fulfil his promise[7]. We can see a definite growth in faith here. There is a striking difference between the Abraham we saw pouring out his frustrations to God in Genesis 15 and the Abraham we see in Genesis 22, with firm and confident obedience to God. In Genesis 22, Abraham did not even flinch; his faith was solid as a rock. The physical limitations that used to arouse uncertainty and discouragement within him no longer affected him. He had seen God overcome them before, and God can do so again. Abraham’s hope in God was now sure and steadfast, it was solid, and it was strong.

What is faith? What is hope? True faith and genuine hope are tenacious in nature, they will always be seen to be battling with negative feelings which cause unbelief, constantly striving to exercise faith in God’s word even if the circumstances which surround seem contrary to the word of promise. As the believer exercises faith, he would find the hope within him growing stronger and stronger. That is the kind of hope which Abraham exhibited, and that is the kind of hope God wants us to have. Abraham has set the standard, let’s follow his example!

[1] Hebrews 6: 18

[2] Hebrews 6: 19

[3] Abraham lived a hundred and seventy five years, Abraham’s father Terah lived two hundred and five years (Genesis 11: 32)

[4] Up to eight generations before Abraham, all of Abraham’s forefathers had children in their twenties or thirties, with the exception of his father, Terah, who had Abraham and his brother at seventy years of age (Genesis 11: 12 – 26).

[5] Genesis 11: 30

[6] Genesis 17: 19

[7] Hebrews 11: 17 - 19