Hope Against Hope

“In hope he believed against hope, that he should become the father of many nations, as he had been told …” Romans 4:18a

Abraham and Sarah were in an impossible situation. God had promised that he would become the “father of many nations” (Romans 4:17). Time passed, but nothing happened. Abraham was ninety-nine years old, and Sarah was eighty-nine. By human standards, having a child was an impossibility, and their hope was wearing thin.

Abraham’s Hope was Based on God’s Promise

When he was seventy-five years old, Abraham (Abram) thought that a servant named Eliezar of Damascus would inherit all he owned because he had no heirs. However, God had other plans. In Genesis 15:4-5, we read, “‘This man shall not be your heir; your very own son shall be your heir … Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them … So shall your offspring be.’”

Twenty-four years later, Abraham and Sarah still had no child, and she had lost all hope. Then the Lord appeared to Abraham and said, “‘I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah your wife shall have a son’” (Genesis 18:10). Sarah laughed and said to herself, “‘After I am worn out, and my lord is old, shall I have pleasure?’”

Hope Against Hope

Sarah thought no one could hear her, but God overheard her whispered doubt. He told Abraham, “ Is anything too hard for the Lord? At the appointed time I will return to you, about this time next year, and Sarah shall have a son.” (Genesis 18:14)

God’s promises are not negated by human doubt. Because a pregnancy was impossible by normal means at their age, God alone could make it happen. Unlike Sarah, Abraham believed.

Romans 4:17,18 offers an incredible statement of what it means to believe God regardless of our circumstances. “[In] the presence of the God in whom he (Abraham) believed, who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist. ¹⁸ In hope he believed against hope, that he should become the father of many nations, as he had been told …” In other words, Abraham believed God when there was no logical reason to believe.

Hope Grounded in Faith

There is a difference between believing God for everything He says He will do and believing in God. Many people believe that a god of some kind exists. A very few believe God for every single word He has said.

We all experience periods of doubt and despair, but we mustn’t allow this to become the norm. Abraham’s faith rested on the character and promises of God, not on anything he could do. Instead of doubting because God didn’t fulfill the promise immediately, Abraham looked at the facts and chose to believe.

Romans 4:20-21 tells us, “No unbelief made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God,²¹ fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised.” Hope grounded in faith in the living God ignores seeming impossibilities and believes that “[Nothing] will be impossible with God” (Luke 1:37). This faith was “counted to him as righteousness” (Romans 4:22).

Hope Against Hope is Based on Trust

This passage is about “saving faith,” the faith that God brings life from death. When we’re dead in our sins, God saves us and gives us new life. Paul isn’t teaching that if we just have enough faith, God will answer our prayers exactly as we want. That is a lie of false teachers who proclaim a prosperity gospel. It is the object of our faith that is important, not its strength. Sometimes we pray and believe, only to discover our prayers aren’t answered the way we thought. However, if we trust in God’s wisdom, we will never be disappointed. He will make our desires align with His will. Everything He does is right, for our good and His glory.

Is God asking you to hope against hope—to trust Him through circumstances that appear impossible? Take that step of faith today. Place your hope in the God of Abraham, who brings life from death. When our hope is based on God’s character and His promises, we will see Him work.

“And he believed the Lord, and He counted it to him as righteousness.” Genesis 15:6

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