In Proverbs 13:12 (ESV) it says, “Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a desire fulfilled is a tree of life.” There was a period last year when I kept hearing this scripture over and over. I finally stopped, and asked the Lord, “is my heart sick?” He responded and said, “your heart is not sick, but it is tired.”
I have found that one of the hardest things in this life is to continually pray for a particular thing, for a long period of time, and not see it come to fruition in the way you believe it should have. Our feelings and perceptions are often wrong, as well as our interpretation of our experiences. A sick heart can lead to unrelenting hopelessness. Which means the hopelessness often becomes the focus and God’s providence in the situation is missed. In Jeremiah 17:9 it tells us, that the heart is desperately sick and deceitful and asks, who can understand it? The answer is, the One who created it and the One who lives in it.
So how do we overcome this hopelessness? We ground ourselves in the truth which is the Word of God. The truth is Jesus! When we finish reading the verse in Proverbs it says, “desire fulfilled is a tree of life.” God has a lot to say about hope and desire in His word. When we put it all together, He is telling us that our hope should always be in Him. Having hope in Christ renews are strength, hope is an anchor, and hope leads to peace. Hope deferred is not hope denied. Let me encourage you to think about these truths, to remember the One who is true, and who doesn’t fail us. Ask God to help you do a raw evaluation of your feelings and give you His perception of the situation you find yourself in.
You see, the difference between hope and desire is that hope is a yearning for something that is not seen and should be based in faith and belief that it is possible; while desire is merely a wanting for something fervently even if it feels impossible. The word says that God gives us the desires of our heart, so we must make sure the desire we are wanting is connected to our faith in Christ. This will bring us to a resolved place of keeping our focus on the provider of our hope, not allowing us to grow sick in the heart but be fulfilled in Jesus, who is also wonderfully enough to be our rest.
I pray for you today my friend if your heart is feeling hopeless or even tired. To fix your focus on the Giver of hope because He is our anchor, let Him give you rest. Remember – hope deferred is not hope denied.
(Proverbs 13:12 ESV) says, “Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a desire fulfilled is a tree of life.”
