Hope vs Expectation
The gift God gives vs the burdens we create
Too often in the Christian life we reject God’s gift of hope by turning it into a burden of expectation. God offers us freedom from sin, but we try to secure our own freedom through our own efforts. When the inevitable guilt and shame hits we believe we have failed to live up to God’s expectations. In reality, all we’ve done is succumb to the same temptation the serpent offered to Adam and Eve. We too have tried to become like God.
We see the consequences of this choice in the life of Abram. God offers Abram and Sarai the hope of a son. But Abram transformed that hope into an expectation when he listened to his wife.
“And Sarai said to Abram, “Behold now, the LORD has prevented me from bearing children. Go in to my servant; it may be that I shall obtain children by her.” And Abram listened to the voice of Sarai.” (Genesis 16:2)
Abram’s self effort results in a son, but playing god always has consequences.
“And Sarai said to Abram, “May the wrong done to me be on you! I gave my servant to your embrace, and when she saw that she had conceived, she looked on me with contempt. May the LORD judge between you and me!” But Abram said to Sarai, “Behold, your servant is in your power; do to her as you please.” Then Sarai dealt harshly with her, and she fled from her.” (Genesis 16:5-6)
Abram was a coward. He refused to hold onto the hope of a child God gave him. He refused to stand up to his wife when she mistreated her slave Hagar. If not for God’s intervention Abram would have never gotten to meet his son Ishmael. Even after God makes a covenant with Abram, changes his name to Abraham and his wife’s name to Sarah, and once again gives them the hope of a son together, Abraham refuses to hold onto hope. He decides to give his wife to another man for fear that the King of Gerar would kill him. Once again God has to intercede so that Sarah is returned to Abraham with her honor intact.
Abraham failed to kill sin in his life because he refused to trust in the hope God had given him. How could the King of Gerar kill him if God hadn’t fulfilled his promise of a son yet?
Eventually Sarah did conceive and give birth to Isaac. But Abraham had to endure the pain of Ishmael being sent away from him, and he had to endure the trial of being asked to sacrifice Isaac on the altar. When we forsake hope, we always invite unnecessary pain into our lives. And yet God is still merciful.
Right as Abraham is about to bring down his knife on Isaac God stops him saying, “He said, “Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him, for now I know that you fear God, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me.” (Genesis 22:12). Would God have felt the need to test Abraham’s faith if he had trusted God in the first place?
Sin always has consequences, far beyond what we can fathom. But we can take hope in this: whatever sin we wrestle with today, there will be a day in the future when Christ conquers it once and for all. That final victory is coming, and Christ offers the same strength to us that he will use to achieve it, the Holy Spirit.
Will you accept God’s gift of hope in your battle against sin?
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