SCRIPTURE

Acts 26:6-8 (NASB95)

And now I am standing trial for the hope of the promise made by God to our fathers;

7 The promise to which our twelve tribes hope to attain, as they earnestly serve God night and day. And for this hope, O King, I am being accused by Jews.

8 Why is it considered incredible among you people if God does raise the dead?

COWBOY WISDOM

Paul told King Agrippa flat out — the reason he was standing trial wasn’t for a crime, it was for a hope. Acts 26:6 says, “I am standing trial for the hope of the promise made by God to our fathers.” That hope was the resurrection, the promise that God raises the dead. Paul was willing to be chained up, mocked, and hauled before kings for a hope that most folks couldn’t even wrap their minds around.

A rancher waiting on rain during a dry spell knows what real hope costs. You don’t just wish for rain — you keep the fences mended, keep the stock tanks ready, keep working the land like the rain is coming, because you believe the promise of the seasons hasn’t broken. Paul’s hope worked the same way. He said in verse 8, “Why is it considered incredible among you people if God does raise the dead?” He wasn’t hoping against the odds — he was standing on a promise God had already made.

Romans 8:24-25 says, “For in hope we have been saved, but hope that is seen is not hope; for who hopes for what he already sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, with perseverance we wait eagerly for it.” That’s the kind of hope that can carry a man through a trial, through a drought, through a long stretch of not seeing the answer yet. It’s not wishful thinking — it’s a promise you can hitch your whole life to.

The twelve tribes, Paul said, were “earnestly serving God night and day” for this same hope (Acts 26:7). Hope like that isn’t passive. It shows up to work every day, even before the rain falls.

QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION

1. What promise of God are you currently standing on, even though you haven’t seen it come to pass yet?
2. Paul’s hope in the resurrection shaped how he lived every day. How does your hope in Christ show up in your daily routine?
3. Have you ever had to defend your hope to someone who thought it sounded impossible? How did you respond?

PRAYER FOCUS

Father, thank You for the sure and certain hope of the resurrection. When the answer’s slow in coming, help me keep tending the fences and working the ground like the promise still stands — because it does. Strengthen my perseverance, and let my hope be evident to everyone who’s watching. Amen.