Don’t Lose Hope {Lovely You Devotional Series}

Week 4: Don’t Lose Hope

Proverbs 13:12
Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but when the desire is fulfilled, it is a tree of life.

Have you ever prayed/hoped for something and it seemed like it would never come to pass? The verse above says that hope deferred makes the heart sick. To defer means to put off or to postpone. So the verse says that when things we are hoping for are “postponed” or “put off” it affects our being. In these times we may feel sad, depressed and even in despair. But the meaning of the word defer in itself tells us that this is only temporary. It tells us that what we are hoping for is only delayed but at some point it will come to pass. We tend to focus too much on the first part of that verse, myself included. But thank God for the latter part which says “But when the desire is fulfilled, it is a tree of life”. When whatever we are hoping for comes to pass, it brings life into us. It gives strength to endure other situations, an increase in faith, a working of patience within us, and so forth.

So, what do we do in the meanwhile even when we grow weary of the wait? I believe that God wants us to be as Psalms 1 describes…
Psalm 1: 2-3
2 but whose delight is in the law of the Lord,
and who meditates on his law day and night.
3 That person is like a tree planted by streams of water,
which yields its fruit in season
and whose leaf does not wither—
whatever they do prospers.

So don’t lose hope in your time of waiting…because when your desire comes to pass, it will be a tree of life for you that will bless you and others around you!