Paul is recounting the faith of Abraham, whom God made to be the father of many nations. In Romans 4:17-22 he said that Abraham was, “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.” Abraham believed that God would provide a sacrifice other than his son, or that God would bring Isaac back to life after he was sacrificed. Either way, this required a strong hopeful resolve down deep in his heart. He was hoping for what looked impossible to the human mind. If he had told anyone else what he heard God tell him to do, he would have faced ridicule and questioning, no doubt. We can be sure that the enemy was there with his accusatory narrative… “Did God really say that ?…You know that when you do this, Isaac is going to think you’ve gone mad, and he will hate you…You know, you’re thwarting God’s promise that He gave to you…. Those are just a few accusations that I could imagine hearing. An interesting thing to remember is, Satan’s accusations are most effective in the mouths of friends or family members against you or you against them. Even Isaac didn’t ask about the sacrifice until the very last. He trusted his father. Abraham’s assignment was just to be obedient through each step of the process; not have it all figured out. In verses 20-22 he said, “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. And therefore, it was accounted to him for righteousness.”Paul goes on in Romans 5:3-5 to say, “Not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character, and character, hope. Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.” Look at what we go through in order to produce this kind of hope that… contrary to hope, in hope causes us to believe. God wants us to realize that enduring through tribulations is what brings us a reward of perseverance. When we grow in perseverance, learning to stay steadfast, we get the reward of building the strong character like Jesus had, to be faithful to do the will of the Father no matter the cost. And when our character is being fashioned into the likeness of Jesus, we have this hope that will not leave us. It shores up our faith, keeping us from wavering in the midst of the storms. Romans 8:24-25 says, ”For we were saved in this hope, but hope that is seen is not hope, for why does one still hope for what he sees ? But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance.”God wants to build in us the character of His Son, so that we can thrive in our calling. Let’s not run from our trials. They aren’t detours; they’re training ground.
Quote from C.S. Lewis:“Imagine yourself as a living house. God comes in to rebuild that house. At first, perhaps, you can understand what He is doing. He is getting the drains right and stopping the leaks in the roof and so on; you knew that these jobs needed doing and so you are not surprised. But presently He starts knocking the house about in a way that hurts abominably and does not seem to make any sense. What on earth is He up to ? The explanation is that He is building quite a different house from the one you thought of; You thought you were being made into a decent little cottage: but He is building a palace. He intends to come and live in it Himself.”