April 30, 2021
Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a desire fulfilled is a tree of life. Proverbs 13:12
All of us encounter moments where we feel hopeless, and indeed it feels sickening to the heart. Unfortunately, Solomon does not provide a solution for us in this passage. We have to look back to chapter 3:18 where the “tree of life” is used as a synonym for personified Wisdom. Thus, our hope is deferred when we place it in the wrong source.
Consider the lives of actor Christopher Reeve and Christian activist Joni Eareckson Tada. Both suffered spinal injuries resulting in quadriplegia. Reeves however placed his hope in human research and sadly died an unbeliever. Tada (who has utilized her talents to grow God’s Kingdom worldwide from the confinement of her wheelchair) has and continues to place her hope in her risen Lord:
“Heartache forces us to embrace God out of desperate, urgent need. God is never closer than when your heart is aching.”
Rev. Gordon Green, M.Div., M.A. Counseling
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