The Righteous Under Severe Trials
If you live any length of time on this earth, you are bound to encounter heartache, pain and disappointment. Job 14:1 says, Man is born of a woman is of few days, and full of trouble (KJV). Then there are times that life tosses you a loooong delay! Ever had one of those? You find yourself counting down the years, months, days, hours, seconds, until time runs out on the set time you believe things will manifest in your life. Been there? I have!
I would like to remind you that time to God is totally different than time to us. The God we serve has the power to take dead things and breathe life back into it! The God we serve can spring a well in the middle of a desert. He can even send manna and cause quail to land on your door step.
So when you are challenged to Hope against hopelessness, remember who is in control. Very important! Let’s take a look at someone who knows what I’ writing about.
Romans 4:18 says, Who against hope believed in hope, that he might become the father of many nations; according to that which was spoken, so shall thy seed be. The key to this scripture is: according to that which was spoken. Here is a law of scripture: whenever God decrees a thing, it will come to pass. Isaiah 55:11 says, So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, But it shall accomplish what I please, And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it” [Isaiah 55:11 NASB].
God’s Word is not returning to God void, without producing any effect, empty, or useless [AMP, NASB].
God’s Word is going to accomplish, produce, succeed, and make effect in what God pleases.
God’s Word is going to prosper, advance, and make progress everywhere God sends it. Gesinus’ lexicon describes the word prosper as to “go over or through as a river”.
Abraham had a promise from God (Genesis 17:5). He would not let go of what God told him. Even though time had lapsed, Sarah was beyond child bearing age (according to their understanding). Romans 4:19 closes the deal for the believer. It says, And being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now DEAD, when he was about an hundred years old, neither yet the DEADNESS of Sarah’s womb. Did you catch that?!
The promise to Abraham from God, superseded his DEAD body as well as Sarah’s DEAD womb. Wow! Wow! Wow! Abraham did not even stagger at the promise. He just Hoped against Hopelessness! I encourage you to go back and read this lesson on your own. By doing so, you only increase your own faith. Faith cometh by hearing…….you finish it!
I close with this…..Are you ready? If we don’t stagger at the promise, do we ever have hopelessness? Hmmmm! Capitol One ask the question, “What’s in your wallet?” I’m asking, “What’s your HOPE in?”
Until our next T.R.U.S.T.
Be Blessed,
Pastor Gary L. Pleasant
