Keeping Hope Afloat

DAY EIGHT: Wednesday, October 22, 2008

Read Hebrews 6:13-20

"So God has given both His promise and His oath. These two things are unchangeable because it is impossible for God to lie." Hebrews 6:18 (NLT)

On July 4, 1952, Florence Chadwick waded into the Pacific Ocean off Catalina Island. Her goal? Swim to the Californian coast. The fog was so thick she could barely see the boats accompanying her. After fifteen hours she gave up, despite her trainer telling her she was close to the coastline. But all she could see was fog, and she quit - only a half-mile from her goal.

Later she said, "I'm not excusing myself, but if I could have seen the land, I might have made it." Two months later, on a day with no fog, she did.

When God promised to give Abraham inumerable descendants there was a lot of "fog" in the way of believing God's guarantee. To begin with, Abraham and his wife Sarah didn't have any children. Secondly, they were too old to have kids. Nonetheless, "Abraham waited patiently and he received what God had promised." (Hebrews 6:15)

How did Abraham see through the fog and keep his hope afloat? How could he "see" land? His land was the promise of God. (See also, Hebrews 11:9-10) And since God cannot lie, His Word is as firm as anything in the universe!

Action step for today: Find a promise in the Bible (there are hundreds of them) and memorize it. Pick one that will especially help you to see through whatever fog is tempting you to lose hope.