In reflecting on the current world situation, I got to thinking about all the folks out there that are just “hoping” in “hope.” They don’t really have anything solid to hang onto as the world buffets and pushes them from one corner to another. Perhaps the very strong are fortified in their hope in their own abilities, but what happens when that runs into a dead end? I have been there and at the end of the day that little dark corner is the same for everyone; it is just your reflection in the mirror.
I have taught a lot about the difference between hope and faith. The key thing to remember is that like the thermostat on the wall, hope is where we dial the desired temperature. But without a furnace to respond — our faith — the temperature in the room is not going to change. It all comes down to “faith;” the very faith God instilled in us the moment we believed and were redeemed.
Go back to Genesis 15 where we read about the covenant that God made with Abram (Abraham). I would just like to point out a couple of things I saw this morning that I think helps us understand how God views faith.
Abraham asked the obvious question; (8) how will I know? And rather than provide an explanation, God set forth the action to solidify His promise; He cut a covenant with Abraham. But this covenant was different than any other. As you read through the verses God has Abraham cut the animals in half and set the halves opposite one another. This was the traditional way of “cutting” a covenant between two parties. It had to involve the shedding of blood and the parties had to walk between the two halves, signifying that if they broke the covenant that the same thing would happen to them. So far so good. But what did God do with Abraham?
God took it upon Himself to make a unilateral contract; one way, one party. He made the covenant with Himself; He swore by Himself as there is no higher authority. That was evidenced when God passed through the sacrifice while Abraham slept. Now step back a moment and look at a couple of important things that preceded that. Where was Abraham?
Gen 15:11 And when the fowls came down upon the carcasses, Abraham drove them away.
There he was, God made a promise and all he asked Abraham to do was bring what was needed and stand guard while he waited. The birds of prey that came downs were representative of the evil that tried to attack the covenant that God made.
When God makes us a promise it is no different, we need to bring all that we have — our faith — and do what He has asked of us. And like with Abraham, the birds of doubt and unbelief will come and we need to, by faith, drive them away. That is our part … the rest is in God’s hands.
And because God did not want Abraham to have any part in the covenant — because He knew he could not keep it — God put him into a deep sleep:
Gen 15:12 And when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and, lo, an horror of great darkness fell upon him.
I find it interesting that the Hebrew word for deep sleep (tardemah) is the same word used when God put Adam (Gen 2:21) to sleep to create Eve. It was all God’s work and none of Abraham’s. In fact, He has already done the same for us when He made a covenant that involved the sacrifice of His Son; a covenant that God made in which we had no part, no involvement. As it was for Abraham so it is for us; we can never claim having had any part in the promise.
Paul covers this very well in Galatians 2:3 where he clearly shows that the promise that was made to Abraham was fulfilled in the “seed” of that promise; Jesus. Which brings me back to my initial comment; what hope is there for the unbeliever to hang onto in today’s troubled world? It is the empty hope of the world’s system that will always fail. The only real hope they can have is the hope we hold in our hearts. But if we do not share it with them, they will be left just “wishing and hoping.”
When the tribulations and trials that surround us seem to be overwhelming, remember that we have a sure covenant in Jesus. Our job is to press on to the promise as did Israel, driving off the birds of doubt and unbelief. We have a sure hope in eternity that we need to share with those that can only hope in hope itself. God sealed His covenant with Abraham by walking between the sacrificed animals and He sealed His covenant with us by sacrificing His Son on the cross.
So, as we are all witnessing a world that appears to be coming apart, we need to remember that we have a guaranteed and certified covenant, and stand on it in faith. No matter how bad it gets, the Lord will stand by His covenant. Let us all be about the challenge to share that covenant with the lost who truly have no hope.