A Hope Deferred

A Hope Deferred

There is this really powerful bible verse tucked away in Proverbs. It is found in chapter 13, verse 12. “A hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life.” I really think that I have been caught in the middle of that all this year. 

When we came to Prague last August, we were certain that it was for good. Or, for an extended period of time anyway.  But, as we know, the best laid plans of mice and men often go awry. Awry doesn’t really begin to cover it. Misinformation, bait and switches, poor health, and toxic work environments come a little closer. 

So, for now our hope is deferred and our hearts are sick. We are leaving Prague this Friday and have a rather large question mark hanging out there in front of us. It has caused me to question many things. It has caused us pain, frustration and even great sadness. 

But there is beauty in all of this. The beauty is that there is a second part to that verse. “A longing fulfilled is a tree of life.” The one thing that never changed in all of our circumstances is God’s great love for us. 

We long to serve God and others. We want to make people’s lives better. We want many people to come to faith. That is the tree of life that we working towards. Maybe we will see this fulfilled while we are living, but maybe that longing will only be fulfilled when we see God face to face in eternity. 

Maybe you’re reading this and you think faith is silly or a joke. Well, I am not going to try to talk you in to it. The last time I talked a person into faith, he walked away as soon as I left. So I will not be persuading you to believe through his post. But maybe I will convince you to think about what you believe and why you believe it. I am not responsible to save anyone’s soul. I am only responsible to tell them that God loves them and wants them to know that. That is what this post is for. God loves you. He died for you. He wants a relationship with you. 

I am so interested to see how exactly God will fulfill our longing for him. We are kind of downcast right now, but not defeated. I am so perplexed right now, but not in despair. I believe that Jesus Christ has a plan for my life. Loving and serving him is my purpose. I don’t always live like that, and that makes me sad. But even in my failings he is present and loves me. 

That, in and of itself, is a tree of life.