There are many, what one might call, “National Enquirer” moments in scripture. You know, those miracle stories that when retold, find listeners shaking their heads in disbelief at the impossibility of such a thing being actually true. Paul cites such a story in our text today, reminding his listeners of an aged man and woman who believed in the promise of God, and as a result of God’s faithfulness, welcomed their first-born son into the world at a stage of life when they could have easily been his great, great, great grandparents. No one in their right mind could have hoped for such an outcome, and yet, as the angel said to Mary in announcing that she would bear the Son of God, “With God, nothing shall be impossible.”
The story of Christmas is an “against all hope” story. No one would suspect that the Creator God would come in human form, born in the lowliest of societal expectations, to bring transformation to the human heart, and yet that is exactly what was done. It is an amazing story of love and mercy, brought forth from the only place such miracles can come…the heart of God. Paul tells us in the last few verses of today’s text, that Abraham trusted the heart of God; “…he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised.”
The theme of this first week of Advent is hope. Spend some quiet time today, remembering the story of Abraham and Sarah, Mary and Joseph, and perhaps your own story. In these “against all hope,” moments, remember…and believe.
Prayer: God of possibility, in the “against all hope” moments of life, may we trust in you. Amen.
Jim Abernathy
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