When everything was hopeless, Abraham believed anyway, deciding to live not on the basis of what he saw he couldn't do but on what God said he would do. And so he was made father of a multitude of peoples. God himself said to him, "You're going to have a big family, Abraham!" Abraham didn't focus on his own impotence and say, "It's hopeless. This hundred-year-old body could never father a child." Nor did he survey Sarah's decades of infertility and give up. He didn't tiptoe around God's promise asking cautiously skeptical questions. He plunged into the promise and came up strong, ready for God, sure that God would make good on what he had said.

Romans 4:18-21
The Message

God is fair. God will remember all the work you have done. And God will remember that you showed your love to him by helping his people. And God will remember that you continue to help his people. We want each of you to continue with the same hard work all your lives. Then you will surely get that great thing you hope for. We don't want you to become lazy. We want you to be like those people who get the things that God promised. Those people get God's promises because they have faith and patience.

Hebrews 6:10-12
Easy-to-Read Version