Hope Deferred

“Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life.”  Proverbs 13:12

Remember when you were in high school waiting to hear back from colleges that accepted you and colleges that denied you?  And even worse, colleges that deferred you to a later date.  What?  After I have waited for such a long time!  I remember I heard it through the grapevine that if you got a heavy envelope it was an acceptance, and if you got a light envelope it was a denial.  I’m sure some of us suffered a great disappointment because we didn’t get into our first choice, and maybe we even had to choose a “Safety School." Remember those?  Schools that you didn’t really want to go to, but you knew that you be accepted into. 

“Hope deferred makes the heart sick.”  It’s hard to wait a long time to get a “No” answer.  Especially when we feel that a “Yes” would be the answer to solve all our problems, and fulfill all our earthly dreams. Though, it rarely works that way.  Reality hits, no matter what choice you make there will be challenges, a cutting edge of growth, and fantastic benefits-that outweigh the cost!

This is life! This is story!

But what about, “A longing fulfilled is a tree of life?”  Where is that tree?  Last time we saw the “Tree of Life” Adam and Eve were in the Garden of Eden and they messed up royally!  Yet, God clothed them and sent them out together.   “A longing fulfilled” makes me think of relationship.  Remember in college we met some amazing friends that God gave us to walk alongside us for the ups and downs of college life.  And today at our jobs, in our families, in our marriages God has given us people who really like us, some who really love us and want to see us rise to the occasion; fulfilled, happy, and full of life. 

I know it’s really hard to be deferred.  It’s discouraging.  It’s disappointing.  We begin to lose heart.  But can you believe that God- who opens doors, closes doors, too?  And what He wants to do in and through you is beyond any “Safety School” or “First choice!”

Cutting edge of growth awaits you!  Fantastic Benefits!  Challenges that you can meet head on!  And relationships that will sustain you as a Tree of Life!