January 26th, 2022
Have you ever taken time to think about what it means to have a healthy heart? Just as our physical heart can become sick, especially if we don’t eat the right things and take care of our bodies, our spiritual hearts can become sick. The Bible says that “hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a desire fulfilled is a tree of life” (Prov. 18:12). Hope deferred, meaning postponed or delayed, can actually make our heart sick! This week, I want to talk about what this looks like and what God’s cure is for it!
Hope deferred can cause disappointment and it happens when we hope for something that doesn’t come to pass, either when we think it will or how we think it should. It often comes because we try to fulfill God’s plans in our own strength or our own timing, or because our hope was in the wrong place, like another person or our own ability. The danger of disappointment is that we may shut our hearts off from hoping again, in an attempt to protect ourselves. We often disguise this as “wisdom.” We actually have a saying, “Don’t get your hopes up!” How many times have you used that without thinking? It’s often a phrase said to children because they are most easily excited. They hear the possibility of something good and hope and excitement soars! Why is that? I don’t think it’s because their children. I think it’s because their hearts haven’t suffered disappointment to the point that they are afraid to hope for things, which is how we can become without even realizing it!
In Genesis 37-47, the Bible tells a very well-known story. Jacob, one of the Patriarchs, had 12 sons, his favorite of whom was Joseph. Out of jealousy, his brothers sold Joseph into slavery and lied to their father that he was killed by a wild animal. Jacob was absolutely devasted. Genesis 37:35 says, “All his sons and all his daughters rose up to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted.” Jacob lived believing his son was dead for many years, but during that time, Joseph found favor with God and prospered in Egypt. He became second only to Pharoah. God gave him the interpretation of Pharoah’s dreams, which warned of a coming famine. The Egyptians were able to prepare and store up food and therefore preserve their nation and the surrounding peoples who came to buy food from them. Joseph’s brothers were among those who came to Egypt to buy food and through a series of events, Joseph was reconciled to his brothers. He sent them back to Canaan to bring his father and the whole household to live in Egypt to survive the famine. When they returned and told Jacob what had happened, the Bible says something interesting! They told him, ‘“Joseph is still alive, and he is ruler over all the land of Egypt.” But his heart became numb, for he did not believe them” (Genesis 45:26). Jacob had lived for so many years believing the lie that Joseph was dead, that when he heard the truth, his heart refused to believe it. Another version of that scripture says that “his heart stood still.” He had lost hope entirely for the thing that he desired most! How many of us live this way without knowing it? You can hear the promises of God every day, but they will do you no good at all if you’ve allowed your heart to become numb with pain or disappointment. Does your heart stand still when you hear the promises of God? It shouldn’t. Our hearts should burn within us when we hear His promises and stand in His presence! Genesis 45:27, “when they told him all the words of Joseph, which he had said to them, and when he saw the wagons that Joseph had sent to carry him, the spirit of their father Jacob revived.” When Jacob finally received the truth, his heart began to beat again!
If your heart is numb, if you feel an ache when you try to dream in God, there is an answer! Regardless of what has happened, God can fill your heart with hope again. The answer to a still, sick heart is in God’s love and in the truth of His Word. When we hope in God, desiring the good things He promises us, we cannot be disappointed. Romans 5:5 says, “hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.” Why does hope not put us to shame? Because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit. God’s plans for us are better than we could ever plan for ourselves (Jeremiah 29:11). God himself is better than we could comprehend with our understanding. It’s only the lies that He isn’t good or that He doesn’t love us that will keep us from hoping. Psalm 126:1-2 says,
“When the LORD restored the fortunes of Zion,
we were like those who dream.
Then our mouth was filled with laughter
and our tongue with shouts of joy”
What is it, in God, that you’re most afraid to hope for? God desires to fulfill it (Psalm 37:4). What dream has God given you that’s locked up in your heart? God wants to bring it to pass (Psalm 204-9)! Hope is the expectation of God’s goodness being poured out in your life and it’s absolutely necessary in the life of the believer! You have to hope and dream in God because that’s the only way faith works. Hebrews 10:23 says, “Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful” and Romans 8:25 says, “But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.” If you haven’t seen the fulfillment of the things God has promised or the dreams He’s placed in your heart, do not allow the lie of disappointment to rob you. Dare to believe God! Let your spirit revive and your heart beat again, just like Jacob’s did. God is bigger than you’ve ever dreamed and better than you’ve ever hoped. His promises will revive your heart! He wants more for you—health, prosperity, joy, and freedom—than you’ve ever wanted for yourself. Dare to hope, again!
Hope deferred can cause disappointment and it happens when we hope for something that doesn’t come to pass, either when we think it will or how we think it should. It often comes because we try to fulfill God’s plans in our own strength or our own timing, or because our hope was in the wrong place, like another person or our own ability. The danger of disappointment is that we may shut our hearts off from hoping again, in an attempt to protect ourselves. We often disguise this as “wisdom.” We actually have a saying, “Don’t get your hopes up!” How many times have you used that without thinking? It’s often a phrase said to children because they are most easily excited. They hear the possibility of something good and hope and excitement soars! Why is that? I don’t think it’s because their children. I think it’s because their hearts haven’t suffered disappointment to the point that they are afraid to hope for things, which is how we can become without even realizing it!
In Genesis 37-47, the Bible tells a very well-known story. Jacob, one of the Patriarchs, had 12 sons, his favorite of whom was Joseph. Out of jealousy, his brothers sold Joseph into slavery and lied to their father that he was killed by a wild animal. Jacob was absolutely devasted. Genesis 37:35 says, “All his sons and all his daughters rose up to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted.” Jacob lived believing his son was dead for many years, but during that time, Joseph found favor with God and prospered in Egypt. He became second only to Pharoah. God gave him the interpretation of Pharoah’s dreams, which warned of a coming famine. The Egyptians were able to prepare and store up food and therefore preserve their nation and the surrounding peoples who came to buy food from them. Joseph’s brothers were among those who came to Egypt to buy food and through a series of events, Joseph was reconciled to his brothers. He sent them back to Canaan to bring his father and the whole household to live in Egypt to survive the famine. When they returned and told Jacob what had happened, the Bible says something interesting! They told him, ‘“Joseph is still alive, and he is ruler over all the land of Egypt.” But his heart became numb, for he did not believe them” (Genesis 45:26). Jacob had lived for so many years believing the lie that Joseph was dead, that when he heard the truth, his heart refused to believe it. Another version of that scripture says that “his heart stood still.” He had lost hope entirely for the thing that he desired most! How many of us live this way without knowing it? You can hear the promises of God every day, but they will do you no good at all if you’ve allowed your heart to become numb with pain or disappointment. Does your heart stand still when you hear the promises of God? It shouldn’t. Our hearts should burn within us when we hear His promises and stand in His presence! Genesis 45:27, “when they told him all the words of Joseph, which he had said to them, and when he saw the wagons that Joseph had sent to carry him, the spirit of their father Jacob revived.” When Jacob finally received the truth, his heart began to beat again!
If your heart is numb, if you feel an ache when you try to dream in God, there is an answer! Regardless of what has happened, God can fill your heart with hope again. The answer to a still, sick heart is in God’s love and in the truth of His Word. When we hope in God, desiring the good things He promises us, we cannot be disappointed. Romans 5:5 says, “hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.” Why does hope not put us to shame? Because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit. God’s plans for us are better than we could ever plan for ourselves (Jeremiah 29:11). God himself is better than we could comprehend with our understanding. It’s only the lies that He isn’t good or that He doesn’t love us that will keep us from hoping. Psalm 126:1-2 says,
“When the LORD restored the fortunes of Zion,
we were like those who dream.
Then our mouth was filled with laughter
and our tongue with shouts of joy”
What is it, in God, that you’re most afraid to hope for? God desires to fulfill it (Psalm 37:4). What dream has God given you that’s locked up in your heart? God wants to bring it to pass (Psalm 204-9)! Hope is the expectation of God’s goodness being poured out in your life and it’s absolutely necessary in the life of the believer! You have to hope and dream in God because that’s the only way faith works. Hebrews 10:23 says, “Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful” and Romans 8:25 says, “But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.” If you haven’t seen the fulfillment of the things God has promised or the dreams He’s placed in your heart, do not allow the lie of disappointment to rob you. Dare to believe God! Let your spirit revive and your heart beat again, just like Jacob’s did. God is bigger than you’ve ever dreamed and better than you’ve ever hoped. His promises will revive your heart! He wants more for you—health, prosperity, joy, and freedom—than you’ve ever wanted for yourself. Dare to hope, again!
No Comments