Hope and physical well-being are interlinked. People with depression are more prone to heart attack, i.e. hopelessness leads to chronic physical illnesses. Proverbs 13:12 says “Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life.” In other words hope that is delayed makes the heart faint or sick, but a longing that is fulfilled is a delight.
What is Hope? It is a Steady, quiet, confident expectation for good, whereas, Sick in Hebrew means a cause to grieve. It’s like we are longing for something, for a prolonged period that it causes grief, smashing all hopes. Hope is like what seeds are to the earth .Without hope is we die. Hebrews 11: 1 says, “Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see”. To have hope means to have a steady, quiet, confident expectation for good. If we do not have hope for future, then we have no power for present.
An experiment was conducted on two sets of Rats: 1st set of rats were put into a bucket full of water, they were left to save themselves. These rats flapped their feet and tried for a couple of hours but soon lost their lives and drowned in the tub. 2nd set: of rats were also put into a bucket full of water, they were left to save themselves, however, the difference was that after every one hour one rat was removed out of the water. In this manner, the rats managed to survive for 24 hours. Conclusion of this experiment was that the survival time increased because they had hope that someone would come and lift them up, so they tried till the very end. Our hope for the future is in God for those who hope in the Lord will not be disappointed.
- Recognize the reality of hope deferred:
Unrealistic view that there have never been issues of hope delayed. King David was in such a situation as mentioned in Psalm 42 and 43. He struggled with delayed hope. “My tears have been my food. Day and night I have been crying.” All along you have been crying. David went through that same experience as yours. It’s a reminder for them with hopelessness that hope in God. Psalm 42: 3 My tears have been my food day and night, while people say to me all day long, “Where is your God?” Battling with hope deferred. Go on hoping in God. It’s a very real thing. Job is very good example of hope deferred. Job 19: 8 – 10 says “He has blocked my way so I cannot pass; he has shrouded my paths in darkness.9 He has stripped me of my honor and removed the crown from my head. 10 He tears me down on every side till I am gone; he uproots my hope like a tree. Job identifies his hope like a tree that is uprooted. Yet he could declare in Job 13: 15 Though he slay me, yet will I hope in him; I will surely[a] defend my ways to his face.. Don’t deny hope deferred, don’t let it go unchecked or make you a prisoner. Hope deferred is like a spiral, with the following constantly going around.
- Discouraged
- Divided heart, confusion
- Unbelief
- Disillusion
- Disbelief
- Depressed heart
Cynicism, means to have a dead heart. Hope deferred is not fatal. We have Jesus the great physician Ephesians 2: 12 -13 remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world. 13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ.
If there’s no hope, no God. Jesus came so that we would be healed of Hope deferred. Let God heal us of this.
- Recovery from Hope Deferred.
Abraham and Sarah waited 24 years for this hope deferred. Abraham and Sarah laughed in Cynicism as mentioned in Genesis 17: 17 Abraham fell face down; he laughed and said to himself, “Will a son be born to a man a hundred years old? Will Sarah bear a child at the age of ninety?” – When Paraphrased, it means “Don’t joke. I have don’t have the vitality now which I had in my youth”. But God meant, he would give Abraham the heavenly vitality, as mentioned in Genesis 18: 10 – 12 Then one of them said, “I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah your wife will have a son.”
Now Sarah was listening at the entrance to the tent, which was behind him. 11 Abraham and Sarah were already very old, and Sarah was past the age of childbearing. 12 So Sarah laughed to herself as she thought, “After I am worn out and my lord is old, will I now have this pleasure?”
Sarah laughed, it seems like they have reached a stage of cynicism. God healed them from hope deferred. It is possible. He recovered both Abraham and Sarah as mentioned in Romans 4: 18 Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as it had been said to him, “So shall your offspring be.” Hebrews 11: 11 And by faith even Sarah, who was past childbearing age, was enabled to bear children because she considered him faithful who had made the promise. Renewed perspective of God. Circumstances didn’t change but there was a renewed perspective of what God could do through them. Let’s look at another story in 2 Kings 6 : 15 – 18 When the servant of the man of God got up and went out early the next morning, an army with horses and chariots had surrounded the city. “Oh no, my lord! What shall we do?” the servant asked.
16 “Don’t be afraid,” the prophet answered. “Those who are with us are more than those who are with them.”
17 And Elisha prayed, “Open his eyes, Lord, so that he may see.” Then the Lord opened the servant’s eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.
18 As the enemy came down toward him, Elisha prayed to the Lord, “Strike this army with blindness.” So he struck them with blindness, as Elisha had asked.
Elisha saw the angelic army. But his servant could not see it, he cried with hopelessness, “What shall we do?” Elisha saw hope, he said “Those who are with us are more than who are out there.” The servant was looking at the circumstances; Elisha prayed open his eyes, God enabled a change of perspective. If Abraham and Sarah can come out of a state of being hope deferred, so can we. If Servant of Elisha can have a changed perspective why can’t we. We need to change the perspective from hope deferred to who God is. We can recover from hope deferred. Hope deferred is real, but we can recover from it. When we recover from it, we’ll have a renewal of hope divine.
- Renewal of Hope divine:
Our hope inside can be renewed. We see David battling with hope deferred in psalm 142. David’s cry was to bring him back from prison of hopelessness, which implies that Hope deferred can imprison a man’s soul. Don’t let hope deferred imprison your heart. Break free from hopelessness and start hoping again, without hope faith cannot be operated. Faith is the substance of things hoped for, as Prophet Zechariah talks about the second coming of Jesus. We are supposed to be prisoners of hope. We should be captivated by hope in God, and not by hope deferred. Zechariah 9: 12. Return to your fortress, you prisoners of hope; even now I announce that I will restore twice as much to you. Zechariah, addresses people as prisoners of hope. I want to be a prisoner of hope and be captivated by the promises of God. Hope in Him, let’s read
Hosea 2: 14 -15, “Therefore I am now going to allure her;
I will lead her into the wilderness
and speak tenderly to her.
15 There I will give her back her vineyards,
and will make the Valley of Achor a door of hope.
There she will respond as in the days of her youth,
as in the day she came up out of Egypt.”
Hosea prophesied about the power of hope. It’s God’s unchanging love for his unfaithful people. Even though people are unfaithful, God is faithful. I will lure her; restore her, glorious picture of the grace of God. He’ll restore our inheritance; turn the valley of trouble into the door of hope. Once again our heart will begin to sing.
Romans 15: 13 May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. Overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit, Overflow with hope and not hopelessness. Spend time with people who are full of hope you’ll feel rejuvenated, on the other hand if you spend time with people who are hopeless, you feel depressed.
God will fill us with joy and peace. Our hope is not rooted in hope but our hope is rooted in a God of hope. Our anchor is God of hope. Key for this hope is faith. We should be able to trust him.
We are the people who overflow with hope. Faith must be accompanied with hope otherwise it doesn’t work.
To end with, a story is told of a Farmer – a hailstorm destroyed his farm. It was turned into rubbles, but he saw the rooster under the rubble. Rooster rose in the east out of the rubbles and proudly began to crow. Do you know why, because, the nature of a rooster is to crow. Same message for us, it’s not a time to sink into hopelessness but rise up on the rubbles and crow. It is in our nature to overcome the hopelessness. 1 John 5:4 says “for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith.” We are destined to be prisoners of hope and not hope deferred.
Courtesy: Benny Ho, Series on Faith, Hope and Patience.
Sandra wife of Virjil . The New Hope Community is situated in the heart of the city between Old and New Panvel. We can confidently share that New Hope Community is a Church in Kamothe, Church in Khandeshwar, Church in Khanda Colony, Church in Panvel, Church in New Panvel because we are centrally located and these places surround our church Venue.
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