How do you hope for God’s promises when life seems intent on stealing your faith? Some things you’ve longed for have not come to pass. Others you cherished were taken from you. And yet, with all the loss – of actual blessings or the expectancy of blessings – how could God be asking you to stay hopeful?

For some, hope left long ago, and God is asking you to hope again. But you aren’t sure that hope is safe. The moment you allow a glimmer of expectation to enter your mind, not even your heart, you are bombarded with memories of what it felt like to be let down. Thankfully, there’s encouragement in God’s word for when your hope gets hard.

Let’s look at what the Bible says in Proverbs 13:12.

Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life.

Wait a minute! Why would the Word of God tell us that when our hope is deferred it will make us sick? How is that encouraging?

If having hope that goes unfulfilled could lead my heart – the most vulnerable part of me – to being sick, wouldn’t it be safer not to hope at all? Not to want that child, or that marriage, or that job, or that promise fulfilled that my heart has long desired? Wouldn’t it be more logical to go through life with no expectations?

This is a common question and even more common mindset. And I’m glad you’re open to us having this discussion. Wanting to understand this scripture more, I looked up the definition of deferred.

Have You Misplaced Your Hope?

Deferred means withheld or delayed for or until a certain time or event. In this life, however, we know that nothing is certain. Yet, Proverbs goes on to say that a longing fulfilled is a tree of life. On first look, this sounds like an inconsideration of one’s hope – shaming those who don’t see the fulfillment of what they’ve hoped for and celebrating those who do. But knowing the good God I serve, I could not be at peace with this interpretation of the text. So I looked further.

In the second half of the scripture, a “longing fulfilled” is referred to as “a tree of life.” This is a common phrase used throughout the Bible not only to denote a forbidden tree in the Garden of Eden, but to symbolize the promise of eternal life and constant fellowship with God. 

Could it be that the “longing fulfilled” is a direct correlation to a longing for eternal life and constant fellowship with God? Which, in turn, would mean that hoping in eternal life with God cannot be deferred because He has already ensured through Jesus Christ that we indeed can have constant fellowship with God?

When you reframe this scripture with these definitions, it reads;

Hope delayed for a certain time or event makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is the promise of eternal life and constant fellowship with God

Wow! Have we misplaced our hope and that’s why it’s going unfulfilled? Are we longing for the wrong thing? Could the Word be telling us that hope can only be deferred when it’s placed in something uncertain — which will be anything outside of God. Fellowship with God is an absolute (a promise with guarantee) for the person who hopes in Christ. When we misplace our hope in anything other than Christ, we absolutely run the risk of having our hope deferred and our heart sick.

However, when we recognize that what we truly long for is relationship with God , we gain access to the tree of life. That tree looks like peace, contentment, joy, provision, protection, purpose, and so much more!

Perhaps your heart is sick because you’ve placed your hope in something uncertain. Maybe what you’re hoping for is not that thing you’ve desired for so long, but something much deeper. This could be why every disappointment hurts a little more, making you want to forsake hope altogether.

Don’t Throw Away Your Hope

Hope in the One who can fill every void you have, even the voids you’re unaware of. What you’ll find is that not only will you gain the tree of life, but in His perfect way and perfect timing, He’ll add all those other things you’ve hoped for along the way.

So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. (Matthew 6:31-33)

Trust that God knows what’s best for you, when it’s best for you. And when you’re tempted to look solely to the things you want or need, will yourself to return your heart and hope to God, the One who will never fail you. God is just that good!

Thank you for reading!