Wisdom for the Day: Proverbs 13:12
Proverbs 13
12 Hope deferred makes the heart sick,
but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life.
Put another way;
When hope’s dream seems to drag on and on,
the delay can be depressing.
But when at last your dream comes true,
life’s sweetness will satisfy your soul
When we want something, we have the hope of it coming and it just doesn’t come, we can become despondant and downcast about it.
I used to do 5 month trips away at sea and towards the end of the trip, the expectation of getting home kept me going, only another couple of weeks and I will be free. The hope of getting off at the next port would always be in my mind, the closer it got the more excited I got, the days didn’t seem so long anymore. Then the telex would come through, the crew change was not going to happen at the next port, or the ships orders had changed, or there was no one to relieve me. My head would go down, my hope had not been fulfilled and it sure did make my heart sick. The days seemed to get longer and life became an existence rather than something to be enjoyed.
Life in lockdown for some could be like that. Especially those that are shielding. Another month of isolation, there has been some release when that group have been allowed out for exercise and that was a boost, 31st July for a further relaxation and when that comes and you are given more freedom then it will be like life’s sweetness satisfying the soul.
Christian hope has these now but not yet aspects to it when we think about the promise of Christ’s coming and the coming of the Kingdom of heaven. When faith rises up and you realize that the hope you had of Christ coming into your life has become a reality to you, then you are on cloud nine. It has happened, that hope has been fulfilled and the expectant hope has become a living hope. Life has become a life lived with Christ by your side, when that happens or you are living in that way then that truly does satisfy your soul. When Christ rules in our lives then we live with a spring in our step.
Living with that in focus is healthy but living only with Christs second coming in view can be like hope deferred. We pray for the Lord to come and take us into his arms, we pray to see him face to face and to experience heavens riches but its not coming and its not coming.
As Christians certainly we live in the hope of the fulfilment of our faith but we have been given a mission and a promise that Christ through his Spirit will we with us until the end of the age. So let’s focus on Christ ruling in our lives in the here and now and we will live in life’s sweetness which will satisfy our soul.
