We have all heard “Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but desire fulfilled is a tree of life.” (Proverbs 13) This morning the Lord had me break down this scripture word by word to hear what it is actually saying. We know deferred means to delay, to prolong, to drag along, but did you know it means to scatter, to remove. Interesting added definitions for this word deferred. Then the word sick, which is connected to deferred means weak, rubbed, worn, afflicted, wounded, sore, grieved or diseased. Therefore, when what we hope for prolongs its arrival in our life it actually afflicts us, grieves us, and can disease our heart. No wonder we are told to guard our heart with all diligence for it is the wellspring of life.

The second half of this verse is about desire and fulfillment that produces a tree of life. Desire is delight, longing, pleasant, wish, and an object of desire. While the world fulfilled is what really got me thinking this morning, it means, to go, come, abide, send, attain, come to pass, to be introduced. What? Oh yeah, fulfilled is a sending, introducing, coming to pass word. We are not fulfilled in the sitting, we are fulfilled in the sending. Is it possible, many people have sick hearts because they are not being sent anywhere, they are not being introduced anywhere, they are not going anywhere?

The contrast between a sick heart and a tree of life is so obvious and to think part of healing has to do with sending, makes me realize why the Lord is raising up apostles and prophets in this day, because they are the sending ones. Pastors love for you to stay with them, snuggle into the flock, they don’t want you to leave, go do. The evangelist wants more people to come to church, come to Jesus and then come to church, the teacher wants people to teach in church. But the apostle and prophet, they see the future, they send the people, they are the ones that create movement. My friends, I see us moving as a body of Christ from sitting sick to moving, going, doing, so we can be a tree of life and Ezekiel says, then our leaves will heal nations.