“Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a desire fulfilled is a tree of life.” Proverbs 15:13
Certainly we can all relate to a desire of our hearts being fulfilled, it’s such a wonderful thing! But, I wonder, have you had your hope placed in something that was deferred or postponed? Has there been a person who disappointed the hope you placed in them…a parent? A spouse? A friend? Someone at church? Employer? The Bible says that a hope of our heart that gets deferred makes our hearts sick. But, on the other hand, a desire fulfilled is a tree of life! So, it makes sense that we need to be really wise about where we put our hope, right? Let’s take a look at another verse. In Psalm 42:5, King David says to his own heart,
“Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise Him, my salvation.”
Putting our hope in people and things that were never meant to fulfill our heart’s desire will always leave us empty and always wanting more…and leave our hearts sick. But, God is the one who can handle all our HOPE and He is worthy of it. I love Romans 5:1-5…
“Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through Him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.” Hope in God never puts us to shame. Even if you feel you’ve been shamed by things/people you’ve placed your hope in before, God is trustworthy. God’s hope does not disappoint!”