Long-term Hope

Read Proverbs 13

Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a dream fulfilled is a tree of life.

Proverbs 13:12

Read the front page of any newspaper and it’s hard not to get depressed at the state of the world. Wars, unrest, fighting, terrorism, natural disasters, diseases, failing economies—the list goes on and on. How can we have any hope in such a fallen world? Some Eastern religions gloss over these troubles and suggest that through meditation we can remove ourselves from caring about the suffering around us. Others try to accept it all as just being the way the world works. For them, there is no meaning or purpose, just a hard life followed by death. But neither of these worldviews are true, and neither of them is God’s will for us.

This proverb says that when hope is deferred, it makes the heart sick. But God wants us to have enduring hope—hope for a future, hope for the return of Jesus Christ, hope for a time when all suffering and persecution will end. Some might call this hope nothing more than the foolish wishes of a child who doesn’t yet understand the harsh realities of life. But the proof is in Jesus Christ. His life, death, and resurrection are the reasons for our hope. We may not get what we hope for in this world, but the one in whom we hope will never fail us.

A WORD FOR TODAY

Hope in God will not be deferred.

Today, Lord, grant me a deeper sense of hope for the future. Fill me with an abundance of your love, and help me to look forward with a longing heart for your return.