Scripture Reading: Acts 10

I’d like to give you some hope today― hope that God has the power to do what He has promised.

My daughter showed me a great picture a few weeks ago with the word HOPE written on the palm of someone’s hand.  What was unique about the picture was that the word HOPE on the hand could be seen reflected in a side mirror of a car, with these words written in small print on the bottom of the mirror:

“OBJECTS IN MIRROR ARE CLOSER THAN THEY APPEAR.”

I thought it was a great picture of the hope that God offers to each one of us.  When God promises to do something, you can take it to the bank.  You can trust that He will bring it to pass.  Even if the answers to your prayers might look like they are far off, those answers could really be much closer than you think!

After I saw this picture, my wife and daughter were looking for a new car on the Internet.  Our van had broken down and could no longer be repaired, so we’ve been looking for something to replace it.  My wife has had her eye on a particular little car that she’s really liked for several years.  It’s not like her to care much for cars at all, but this one seemed to be just right for her and my daughter.

As they looked, they found it:  the exact car they were looking for.  Everything was perfect about it:  the style, the color, even the design on the front.  The only thing wrong with it, from my perspective, was the price!  (It was the right price for the car, just the wrong price for us!)

A friend of mine told me that when he sent his daughter off to school he said he sent her off with only his prayers, because he couldn’t afford to send her to the school.  He told her:  “The same God who takes care of me will take care of you..”

Through prayer and hard work, his daughter was able to make it through that school.  God did take care of her.

So as I went to bed with my wife that night after looking at the cars, I told her about my friend’s words for his daughter.  Then I smiled and said, “You’ve got my prayers!  The same God who takes care of me will take care of you!”  We both laughed and went to bed.

The next morning, I went to a men’s breakfast at 6:00 a.m.  As I pulled into the parking lot, someone pulled in right behind me, someone who had never been to the group before.  He just happened to be driving the very same car my wife and daughter had been looking at on the Internet:  the exact style, color, and even the design painted on the front.

I couldn’t believe it!  It hadn’t even been 8 hours since I had prayed that prayer.  I got out and asked him how he liked his car.  He said he loved it.  I asked if he’d ever consider selling it.  He said, “Actually, I’m thinking about it.”  He said things had recently changed in his life, and he didn’t need this car anymore.

We talked some more, and after breakfast, I asked if I could take a look at the car.  I started taking a few pictures for my wife, then I got inside.  As I looked around, my eyes landed on the mirror on the right-hand side.  There reflected in the mirror, I could see the full length of the side of the car, with these words at the bottom:

“OBJECTS IN MIRROR ARE CLOSER THAN THEY APPEAR.”

I almost cried.  I didn’t know if this particular car was God’s answer to our prayers or not, but I did see clearly that if God wanted to answer them, He could do it in an instant.  I took a picture of the car in the mirror, with the words displayed at the bottom, and I repented of my unbelief.  I told God that day that I was sorry for being so flippant the night before, saying to my wife, “The same God who takes care of me will take care of you.”  I know that God can do anything, absolutely anything.

Let me add that it’s been a few weeks now and we haven’t gotten the car yet.  The man’s not quite ready to sell and we’re not quite ready to buy.  We’re not even sure if this is even God’s answer or if He has another answer in the works.  But seeing the car gave me a boost in my faith, and was a vivid reminder of the hope we can have in God—even when it seems like the odds are against us.

That’s the kind of faith that Abraham had.  The Bible says:

“Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as it had been said to him, ‘So shall your offspring be.’ Without weakening in his faith, he faced the fact that his body was as good as dead―since he was about a hundred years old―and that Sarah’s womb was also dead. Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, being fully persuaded that God had power to do what He had promised” (Romans 4:18-21).

I love the way that starts:  “Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed…”  And I love the way it ends:  “…being fully persuaded that God had power to do what He had promised.”

Abraham was fully persuaded that God had the power to do what He had promised.  And that’s the kind of faith that God wants you to have.  How can you do that?  How can you become fully persuaded that God has the power to do what He has promised?

I’d like to give you two ideas today to help give you a boost in your faith.  By doing these two things, I believe that God will renew your mind and give you hope for your future, too.

The first is to take time to read the stories about how God has been faithful to people in the Bible.  Stories like Abraham’s in Genesis chapters 15 through 18.  Stories like Moses’ in Exodus chapter 1 through 4.  Stories like Joshua’s in the book of Joshua, or Esther’s in the book of Esther, or Ruth’s in the book of Ruth.  The Bible is filled with stories from cover to cover about how God has worked in the lives of ordinary people to do extraordinary things.  As you read these stories, you’ll be filled with faith that God can do similar things for you.

The second is to look at stories from people living today who have been touched by the hand of God.  The same God who worked in the lives of men and women thousands of years ago is still at work in the lives of men and women today.  I’ve posted many such stories on our website at www.theranch.org about people who are living today who have seen God work in their lives in astounding ways.  One of those stories is about a woman named Liesl Alexander, a woman who was locked in a mental institution for years, taking 36 medications a day, and was written off as one of the most hopeless cases in the institution.

Yet when a group of people from a local church came and began to pray for her, her life turned around completely.  By the power of Christ, she was set free to live the life that God had created her to live.  For the past 20 years, she’s been sharing her testimony about how Christ has changed her life, encouraging anyone who will listen to be fully persuaded that “God can do anything, absolutely anything.”

God wants you to be fully persuaded that He can do what He has promised to do.  Take some time this week to read the Bible and look for stories of how God has touched people’s lives in powerful ways, then look at our website or other Christian books to see how God has worked in other people’s lives today.  You’ll see that God really can do anything― absolutely anything.

Remember:

“OBJECTS IN MIRROR ARE CLOSER THAN THEY APPEAR.”

HOPE is closer than you might think.

Will you pray with me?

Father, thank You for reminding us that You are always at work on our behalf, and that the answers to our prayers could be revealed in an instant. Help us to trust You fully―to be fully persuaded―that You can do anything, absolutely anything.  In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Questions for Reflection

1. Read Romans 4:13-25.  What does this passage say to you today about hope?

2. While Abraham and Sarah’s story might seem unbelievable, for they were old and past the age of child-bearing, how can their story give you hope for any situation that you’re praying about right now? 

3. What story does Paul refer to, in verses 23-25, to remind us about God’s ability to bring life out of death?

4. What are some steps you can take this week to help yourself become more “fully persuaded” that God can do what He has promised to do, whether they are steps suggested by this lesson, or other steps that might not have been mentioned?  Consider committing to doing one or two of those things..