I woke up this morning hearing the words, “Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life.” This is Proverbs 13:12 and I actually wrote about this exact verse earlier this week. But waking up with it this morning, the Lord was highlighting it again, and then as I opened to the Psalm I was slated to pray today, the same idea of hope came into purview, so wanted to share some thoughts the Lord is putting together around this idea of hope deferred.

Psalm 42:5 says, “Why are you in despair, O my soul? And why are you disturbed within me? Hope in God, for I shall again praise Him, the help of my countenance and my God.”

The Lord said, hope in an outcome; hope in a timeframe; hope in a promise; are the fruits of hope in God, but they are not hope in God. Hope in God is putting hope in the One who we call God. It is trusting in His heart; His character; everything about Him. Hope in God keeps the heart from getting sick even when what we are looking for, hoping for, tarries. Hope is a powerful tool, but it must be anchored in God not an outcome to keep our heart healthy.

Many people go out of their way to make sure they eat heart healthy food, but how many of us are making sure we guard our heart from getting sick from misplaced hope? We need to put our hope in God, not in an outcome, a desire, a dream, an idea or a situation. Hope is a powerful tool God has given us to keep our heart healthy, but it is our responsibility to make sure our hope is in God, for God will never disappoint us. Remember, He is not a man that He should lie (Numbers 23:19), if He said it, it is going to happen. Put your hope in God, those heart muscles are stronger than we realize, even when stretched by delay.