Oftentimes, disappointment is so rampant that even when our last ember of faith is stirred, we still question, “How do I know if I can trust it this time?”
This is a question with which I am quite familiar. Really, it’s been the centerpoint of many of our conversations because I think it’s something that all of us relate to at some level. Ecclesiastes tells us that there is nothing new under the sun, yet every generation is convinced that their way of thinking / acting / doing is the most cutting edge and most profound that has ever existed.
Evidence of creation’s consistent belief that it knows more than its Creator.
We all do it. Every generation, which essentially proves that Solomon’s wisdom was spot on. He was pretty spot on in the book of Proverbs as well, where this question of whether or not we can trust the feeling of hope stirring within us is addressed:
“Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life.” Proverbs 13:12
Admittedly, I’ve often struggled to comprehend this verse or understand what exactly I’m supposed to do with it. Many of the Proverbs tell me what I don’t want to be – for example, all the quarrelsome wife references. Or they set a standard that often feels unreachable – Proverbs 31, anyone?
“Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life.”
Proverbs 13:12
Sometimes I get the wisdom on how to not be quarrelsome or how to be the perfect woman described in the 31st chapter. Proverbs 3:5-6 is a great help. But what do I do with Proverbs 13:12? When we’re waiting on God, and our timeline isn’t lining up with His, is it our fault that hope is deferred? Is there really anything we can do to avoid that?
There are times when we are our own worst enemy and our desire to do what we want overtakes our desire to honor God. That’s not what I’m talking about. I’m talking about those moments when we are fully surrendered, fully seeking Him first, and longings are still unfulfilled. Yes, He should be our longing fulfilled. But what about the desires He gives that are yet unfulfilled?
When you have seen more disappointment than you have seen longings fulfilled, the logical conclusion is “this is how it will be forever.”
This is the state of the Israelites when the book of Matthew begins after four hundred years of silence.
When you have seen more disappointment than you have seen longings fulfilled, the logical conclusion is “this is how it will be forever.”
God’s desire has always been to have a relationship with His people. From the Garden of Eden where He walked with Adam and Eve to the wilderness where He resided among the Israelites as pillar of fire and a cloud.
From the divided kingdom where He empowered His prophets to speak truth to power to the fiery furnace where the Son of Man walked among the servants who loved Him more than their own lives.
And yet, between the books of Malachi and Matthew, the Lord goes silent. No new prophets raised up. No conversation between God and His people.
No persuasive preachers to open the scrolls and make the word come to life with a catchy illustration and innovative social media campaign.
No charismatic worship leaders donning the highest fashion and singing the bridge to the latest award-winning yet slightly scripturally inaccurate hit song. Which was probably a collaboration with that other tribe of levites from the mega-temple down the road.
And those satirical anecdotes are absolutely a comment on how easy it is for us in the 21st century to feel like we’re doing something for God when in reality, we’re more likely to comfort and serve our flesh than we are to position ourselves to truly encounter God.
We may feel like we’re really doing something for God. But in reality, we’re more likely to comfort and serve our flesh than we are to position ourselves to encounter God.
Just as God desires to have a relationship with us, we are created for a relationship with Him. These two things belong together. There will always be an unfulfilled longing until we are reconciled with our Creator.
So imagine how painful it must have felt for the Israelites to endure the silence for four hundred years. That’s generation after generation of nothingness. No stories of God’s faithfulness from grandparents shared around the fireside. Only the tales of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob from years long past.
God didn’t speak to my parents, but maybe he will to me.
Silence.
God didn’t speak to me, but maybe to my children.
Silence.
My grandchildren?
Silence.
Great-grandchildren?
Silence.
Hope deferred.
But there is the second part of Proverbs 13:12: a longing fulfilled is a tree of life.
The longing is for a relationship with God, remember?
When the longing is fulfilled, life will come. No matter how much death surrounds you. Life is on its way.
What if the pain we feel from hope deferred is actually the birthing pains of new life?
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