Hope without Wavering

Let us hold fast to the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful. (Heb. 10:23)

In the midst of disappointment, the heart can grow weary holding on to Hope. Even the most simple tasks and obstacles can seem ominous and daunting in the face of a disappointed heart. In these times, we feel like we have faltered or wavered in our confession of our hope.

However, we must learn to see our confession of hope the way God sees it. Even in times when we feel the most hopelessness, despair, and disappointment, all we need is one little movement of our heart towards Hope and God counts it as righteousness.

Think about Abraham. Abraham did some good things, but if you look at Abraham’s life, think about how many times he totally bombed it. There was the time when he lied about Sarah being his wife. Oh, and then he did it again. There was the time when he took his wife’s maidservant, thinking that would be the way to get his promised son. Then, he even sent that maidservant and son away, nearly leaving them for dead.

With this is mind reading through Romans, suddenly, you stumble upon the passage that says, “He [Abraham] did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God…” (Rom. 4:20). Wait a minute…

I always slam on the brakes when I read that passage. Wait, Abraham never wavered? Come on, God, are we talking about the same Abraham?

And then I realize that this is how God sees Abraham. He wiped away the sin and the times of losing heart, and He counts the acts of righteousness as Abraham walked out his faith.

And sometimes, I am a little hard on Abraham, but when I apply this to myself, I feel a great amount of relief.

It is interesting that the writer of Hebrews admonishes us to “Hold fast to the confession of our faith without wavering…” Then, he goes on to say, “For He who promised is Faithful…” It seems as though this is the source of the strength for holding onto our hope.

But, it gets even more interesting when you look back at this passage about Abraham in Romans 4. Paul goes on to say concerning Abraham, “and being fully convinced that what He had promised He was also about to perform. And therefore, it was accounted to him as righteousness…”

Again, here is the idea of hope in the promises connected with believing in the faithfulness of God.

And the most remarkable part is that it was accounted to him as righteousness.

Even when Abraham seemed to waver in hope, waver in promises, and waver in faith, God saw the movements of his heart and the end result of his life, and it was accounted to him as righteousness.

So with all of that in mind, “Let us hold fast to the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful.”