Who against hope believed in hope, that he might
become the father of many nations, according to that which was spoken, So shall
thy seed be Romans 4v18
There is something
about God that is amazing yet very true. He loves showing Himself mightily
where conditions are not conducive for that which He does. He brings rain in
the wrong season if He wants; He chooses the least likely and the ones who look
least suitable for a major task. Talk about Jesus, how that no-one believed
that He was the Christ just because
His stature and history did not prove or at
least suggest so. Talk about David, how that he was the least likely among his
brothers, but God chose him to be king, preferring him to his brothers who
looked suitable for the task. God likes to do things against all odds, and if
you believe it He can do the same for you and me.
Sometimes God does
some things that really look silly, the main reason being that He wants to show
Himself mightily in such circumstances so that no human-devised formula can
prove His work. Let us look at this:
God can prosper
your business to the extent of you being listed on Wall Street in the midst
of a depression greater than the great depression of the 20th
century
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For [simply] consider your own call,
brethren; not many [of you were considered to be] wise according to human
estimates {and} standards, not many influential {and} powerful, not many of
high {and} noble birth. [No] for God selected (deliberately chose) what in the
world is foolish to put the wise to shame, and what the world calls weak to put
the strong to shame. And God also selected (deliberately chose) what in the
world is lowborn {and} insignificant and branded {and} treated with contempt,
even the things that are nothing, that He might depose {and} bring to nothing
the things that are,So that no mortal man should [have pretense for glorying and]
boast in the presence of God. (1 Corinthians 1:26-29 AMP)
In this account we
see what I am talking about. There are people who are easily despised in life
and these are the ones God uses for His work and glory. The main reason being ”that
no flesh should glory in His presence“ (vs29KJV). God hates one thing,
that is, sharing His glory with someone else. He says in Isaiah 42v8: I am
the LORD: that is my name: and
my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images. God
does not want anything or anyone to take credit for what He has done. This
is
why He uses the most unlikely conditions to do a great work, so that even the philosopher will concede that there was
no way this could have happened, but only God can explain this. So you see
folks, God uses exactly the foolish things in the world to put the wise men to
shame. The Bible here is talking about the educated people who want to bring
out formulas, methods and strategies for everything that happens. God can use
the blind to teach pupils in class, He can use the most uneducated people to preach
the Word of God; the biggest bodied person can be used by God to become the
fastest man in the world. He does exactly opposite to what people expect. God
builds a person in such a way that his testimony will just convince everyone
that God was involved, think of Esther.
He brings rain in the wrong season if He wants |
Just imagine how Daniel
refused to eat the king’s meat and wine, yet after ten days his ”countenance
was fairer and fatter in flesh than all the children which did eat the portion
of the king’s meat.“(Daniel 1v15). God used the foolish
things to confound the wise. God is not restricted and confined to the methods
and strategies that man put in place. He is the God who does things against all
odds.
I have laid a sub-stratum to the story I want
you to learn today. Now let’s get into it together.
The Bible in
Genesis talks about a man called Isaac. There was a famine in the land where he
lived. A famine is worse in nature than a drought. This man used natural, human
reasoning and decided to run away from the land, to another place which did
look fruitful. This is what the philosophers could have suggested, this is
probably what the specialists of the time could have suggested, but no, God had
a better plan, as is His nature, He works against all odds. God realized that
this man was about to depend on human wisdom, then ”the Lord appeared to him and
said, Do not go down to Egypt “ Genesis 26v2(AMP)
This was probably
the most ridiculous and frivolous advice that Isaac had received. Probably at a
point in time he concluded that either God wanted to betray him or he was
hearing the wrong voice, little did he know that God works against all odds.
This was God’s reason: live in the land of which I will tell you. Dwell
temporarily in this land, and I will be with you and will favor you with
blessings; for to you and to your descendants I will give all these lands, and
I will perform the oath which I swore to Abraham your father (vs2-3).
Thank goodness Isaac obeyed God. In return, God showed Himself mightily and
through Rebekah Isaac got royal security for his family. God then did something
remarkable for Isaac. Remember this was a time of famine, but ”Isaac
sowed in that land, and received in the same year
an hundredfold: and the LORD blessed
him. And the man waxed great, and went forward, and grew until he became very
great: for he had possession of flocks, and possession of herds, and great
store of servants: and the Philistims envied him“ vs12-14
I want you to
notice how God worked against all odds to bless Isaac when the environment was
inconducive. The man was blessed to the point that the nation envied him and
closed the wells that had belonged to him from his fathers due to jealousy.
Imagine the congressmen holding a meeting in the Capitol in Washington to
discuss how they can freeze your assets as a result of the blessing of God upon
your life, I believe that this is only possible if God does something against
all odds to prove Himself in your life. Isaac reaped 100% in famine, I wonder
what he could have done when not in a famine. He dug wells when the earth was
dry and the ground was hard, and God worked against all odds and there was
water in all the wells that he dug.
Take a good look
at the Lord Jesus, He came from a despised town called Bethlehem. He was not
born in a fancy Hospital or inn, he was born in a manger, a feeding plate for
animals. As if that was not enough, He shared accommodation with animals, one
singer sang. He was born of a virgin, whose husband was a carpenter, and Jesus
grew up working with His father as a carpenter. With all that background, no
one ever imagined that this was the Christ and it was the most nonsensical
thing to believe, no wonder they couldn’t believe Him, that He was the Son of
God. They expected someone from Jerusalem the capital city, someone who would
come in great splendor, not born of a woman but someone who would appear from
heaven riding on a chariot of fire with loud trumpet sound. However God works
against all odds, to confound the wise, so that the philosopher who had
predicted that the Christ’s arrival would be ceremonial would not glory in the
presence of God. Indeed no flesh did glory but God was glorified in Him.
Think of Paul, how
that before his conversion he persecuted the Church of God beyond measure,
killing Christians everywhere. I must admit that I wouldn’t have believed him
when he suddenly resurfaced saying Jesus is Lord. God however used that man to
become the greatest Apostle ever and the man to write more than 50% of the New
Testament. Notice how when Paul preached Christ people GLORIFIED GOD (Galatians
1v24). Had God not worked against all odds, people would have glorified Paul,
but all that God did, He did it so ”that no flesh should glory in His presence“
(1Corinthians 1v29)
I want to write to
someone today who has been despised in life, people have rejected you, they
have hated you and spoken everything bad about you calling you names, but this
is the time to know that God works against all odds to bring you up. Whatever
seems wrong in your life is the best ingredient for God to bring the best out
of you. Your body shape, your appearance, your voice, everything that people
may despise is exactly what God needs. It is actually dangerous not to have
something that people may despise about you because God’s raw materials will be
limited. He is the God who qualifies the uneducated, the God who weds those who
are described as ugly. No matter how they describe you, know that God uses the
despised things of this world to put the wise to shame. You are the right
candidate God wants for people to look at and say, this is unbelievable, ”this
is the Lord’s doing; it is marvellous in our eyes“(Psalms 118v23). I
know that it is possible. God can prosper your business to the extent of you
being listed on Wall Street in the midst of a depression greater than the great
depression of the 20th century. God
enjoys doing something that
everyone least expects, something that can only be described as impossible, for
”the
things which are impossible with men are possible with God” (Luke 18v27).
God wants those who are uneducated to own property, He wants those called ugly
to be married, He wants the poor to become top of the rich list, He wants the
witches and wizards to stand on the pulpit every Sunday to proclaim that Jesus
Is Lord. It might be foolish to you but it is wise to God. God really wants you
to have bread and butter when the whole nation is scrapping the barrel, He did
it with Isaac, and He can do it with you. He works against all odds.
As I conclude I
want us to look at our opening scripture. The Bible, talking about papa Abraham
says he ”against hope believed in hope,
that he might become the father of many nations.“ The Bible here is giving
a distinction between godly hope and worldly hope. Abraham used godly hope to
contradict worldly hope, and the Bible tells us
[For Abraham, human reason for] hope being
gone, hoped in faith that he should become the father of many nations, as he
had been promised, So [numberless] shall your descendants be. He did not weaken
in faith when he considered the [utter] impotence of his own body, which was as
good as dead because he was about a hundred years old, or [when he considered]
the barrenness of Sarah's [deadened] womb. No unbelief {or} distrust made him
waver (doubtingly question) concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong
{and} was empowered by faith as he gave praise {and} glory to God, Fully
satisfied {and} assured that God was able {and} mighty to keep His word {and}
to do what He had promised. Romans 4v18-21
Abraham went
against worldly hope, because he understood that God works against all odds,
with an impotent body, a barren, old wife with dead womb and both of them very
old, he was nevertheless ”fully satisfied {and} assured that God was
able {and} mighty to keep His word {and} to do what He had promised’’ vs21.
Worldly hope works with physical evidence, but godly hope believes in a God
who is not confined to human laws, systems and strategies, a God who works
against all odds. It takes faith to get hold of this truth ladies and gentlemen.
Understand therefore, that in the unlikeliest of circumstances, God will work
against all odds to fight on your behalf. Till next time remember, that
Jesus Is Lord TLG
God will work against all odds in my life
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