“Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but when the desire comes, it is a tree of life” (Proverbs 13:12).
When we hope for something that takes a long time to occur, our hearts can become sick. We become disappointed, thinking it will never happen, and our hearts become corrupt, doubting God.
God doesn’t want us to have sick hearts. We can wait for God’s word without allowing our hearts to become sick, discouraged, or depressed. We can have healthy hearts, even when we have to wait a long time for God’s will to occur.
In the Bible, hope is a strong word. Biblical hope is strong because the object of such hope is God. When we hope in God and in his word, we can be confident. God’s word will never fail. Heaven and earth will fail before God’s word fails. We can maintain a healthy heart as we wait for God to fulfill his word because God is not a liar, and what he said will come to pass. Our hope in him will not be disappointed.
Sometimes hope disappoints us because we are not hoping in God but in random things that are unlikely to happen. For example, we say, “I hope it doesn’t rain today,” even if the sky is full of dark clouds and there is 90% chance of rain. It’s most likely going to rain, but we hope that it won’t. When we hope for random things that are unlikely to happen, our hope often fails, and our general concept of hope is weakened.
In order to hope in God, it is important that we hope according to his word. Hoping that God will do something that is not according to his word can lead to disappointment. We need to both know the word of God, and we need to know what God is saying to us specifically. When we know God’s word accurately, our hope in God will not fail.
To hope in God’s word, we need to rightly divide the word of God. The Bible is full of promises, and we must know which promises apply specifically to us and which ones don’t. Hoping for verses to happen which do not apply specifically to us is a recipe for failure. For example, if we are waiting to become the wisest person in the world like Solomon (1 Kings 3:12), our hope will be disappointed.
When we identify a promise that applies to us, we must be prepared to wait. God’s word often takes a while. We must wait for God’s word to be fulfilled. As we wait, we must not allow our hearts to become sick.
A sick heart can turn us away from God and his word. Doubts and depression can creep in. When our hearts become sick, bad words will start coming out of our mouths (Luke 6:45). The mouth is a barometer revealing the state of our hearts. A sick heart will complain. When the Israelites wandered in the wilderness longer than they would like to, before entering the Promised Land, their hearts became sick. They doubted God and complained.
Bad emotions erupt from sick hearts. Someone has been waiting a long time, God has not done things as fast as the person wanted, and they get angry and bitter. They might turn hard and crusty in unbelief. The fruit of the Spirit is good emotions, but bad emotions are a sign of heart sickness.
Some people scoff and mock when the word of God takes a long time to fulfill. They mock God and those who believe in God, saying “what’s the point?” At the end of the age, some Christians will become discouraged because Jesus took a long time to return to earth. They will begin mocking God and his faithful people. They will begin fulfilling their lusts (2 Peter 3:3-4). When God’s word is delayed, some people begin to live in their sins because they think it doesn’t matter anymore.
Satan wants us to give up hope. He wants us to become discouraged. He wants us to stop believing. If he can get us to stop believing God’s word, then he wins a victory, for the will of God is then blocked from happening in our lives. Without faith we can receive nothing from the Lord (James 1:7).
To wait, we need patience. “You need patience, that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise” (Hebrews 10:36).
Sometimes it is necessary to wait a long time before God’s word happens. God himself waits a long time for his word to be fulfilled. He is maintaining a strong and joyful heart while he waits. He’s been waiting 2000 years for a bride for his Son. He’s been waiting for his people to come to maturity. He’s waiting for his kingdom to be all over the world and for Satan to be put under the feet of his people. God is waiting, and his Spirit is inside of us. This means that he will strengthen us to wait too.
Throughout the Bible, strong people of faith like Abraham, Sarah, Noah, Daniel, Joseph, and others had to wait a long time for God’s word to be fulfilled. They didn’t develop sick hearts as they waited, but they encouraged themselves in God.
Many people die without seeing God’s promises fulfilled. But they still die strong in hope. Their hearts don’t become sick. All the strong people of faith listed in Hebrews 11 “died in faith, not receiving the promises” (Hebrews 11:13,39-40). They hoped and waited all their lives for God to fulfill his word. They were hoping for Christ to come. For God’s kingdom to be revealed, for his enemies to be defeated. They didn’t receive the promises, but they didn’t lose hope. Until their dying breaths, they kept hoping in God who never fails, and they maintained healthy hearts. They received a testimony that still speaks and encourages us today.
Since Christ, Christians have still been dying in faith. They have not seen the bride come into her glory or any Christians come to full maturity. They have not seen the kingdom of God all over the world and the glory of God covering the earth as the waters cover the sea. They died in faith, continuing to believe, and passing the torch of hope on to the next generation.
We must not give up. Keep hope alive. There are tasks that God has put before us to fulfill for his kingdom. Someday God’s will will be done everywhere, and all his promises will be fulfilled.
When the will of God is fulfilled, our godly desires are accomplished. Proverbs says the fulfillment of our desires is like a tree of life. When a person eats the tree of life, he can live forever. Jesus Christ is our tree of life, for he said if we eat of him, we would live forever. Jesus is the one who fulfills our godly desires. When he comes, he fulfills our hopes.
At the end of the age, the tree of life will be clearly manifested (Rev. 22:2). Everyone on earth who remains in the kingdom of God will partake of this tree. Its leaves are for the healing of the nations. The end of the age will be the consummation of all godly desires among all of God’s people throughout history. This will be a great time of rejoicing everywhere.
Until that time, let us wait on God. Let us hope in him. He will fulfill his word.
““Son of man, what is this proverb that you people have about the land of Israel, which says, ‘The days are prolonged, and every vision fails’ Tell them therefore, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “I will lay this proverb to rest, and they shall no more use it as a proverb in Israel.” ’ But say to them, ‘ “The days are at hand, and the fulfillment of every vision” (Ezekiel 12:22-23).
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