Proverbs for Living - 13

Proverbs 13:12 (HCSB) - "Hope delayed makes the heart sick, but desire fulfilled is a tree of life."

One of the hardest lessons in my life has been learning the principle behind this verse. Basically, we can see that God makes us wait to truly bless us. And by this, He develops HOPE in our lives.

Hope is a precious and wonderful thing. Here is a helpful and important proverb, if you will consider it carefully. Without hope, men get desperate and will do most anything to escape their hopelessness. With hope, men can endure most anything, no matter how desperate their conditions become. Wise men will appreciate the great value of hope.

Hope is the confident expectation of something desired. If the thing you desire is not obtained in the time expected, your heart and soul are grieved and pained by the delay. But when the desired thing finally arrives, it is a tree of life: your heart and soul are encouraged and revived. These two aspects of hope are true in all matters, both spiritual and natural.

Hope can be pleasant if fulfilled on time. But it can also be painful if there are delays or difficulties in obtaining your desires. Let us consider hunger for an example. Food delightful, when you eat on time. But it can be quite torturous if you are kept from eating on time. Hopelessness is one of the most destructive and painful feelings in the human experience. A wise man sets his hope on sure things. He avoids any desires or expectations for the vain things of this world that lead to despair or frustration. 

If we place our hope and expectations in wisdom - seeing things from God's perspective - we will never be disappointed. Our wise desires will be a fruitful tree, ever bringing us joy and contentment.

Prayer: God of all Wisdom, give me the wisdom to see the things that You desire and make them my desires also. I am assured that all that You desire will come to pass, and I will find great joy and contentment in my life. Amen.