A Tree of Life
Proverbs 13:12 - “Hope deferred makes the heart grow sick but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life.”
Most of us have a dream or desire that has never been spoken out loud, never shared with another person, or perhaps it's something we've given up on. You even might find yourself hesitant to dream and hope due to the deep pain and previous disappointments you've endured. Does any of that sound familiar?
I know I’ve had my share of silenced dreams and sidelined desires. But I believe that God isn’t done with those things we’ve tucked away and hidden.
The definition of hope is the feeling of expectation or desire for a certain thing to happen. In the Bible, hope often refers to the confident expectation of what God has promised, and its strength lies in His faithfulness.
Hope is a funny thing. What can start as an exciting aspiration can slowly morph into heavy discouragement. Proverbs says that when what you’ve hoped for is continually left unfulfilled, your heart grows sick. Have you been carrying around a heaviness from the deep disappointment you feel?
The way we walk through our heart-sick heaviness is choosing to stay attached to the vine and rooted in the things we know are true (John 15:4-7). That looks like reading the Bible and knowing the promises God gives us; praying and asking God to reveal what He says about our dreams and desires; and surrounding ourselves with people who build up our faith instead of questioning it. As hard as it may be, when we push past our feelings and still choose to believe that God is good and for us, something will shift.
Choosing to hold onto the hope the Lord offers, to believe His promises despite your circumstances, is not an easy feat but it is an anchor for us to stake our lives on. (Hebrews 6:19)
My encouragement for you today would be to sit with God and ask him to remind you of the things you’ve hoped for that have been forgotten or hidden. Ask God to touch the places of disappointment and discouragement that keep you from hoping for the future. Bring your hopes and dreams to Him and listen to what He says about them. Allow God to remind you that your hope lies in Him. He will not disappoint you!
-Chelsea Galindo