Key Word: Hope (9) Hope Deferred

We all need hope. We cannot live without hope. We need something good to look forward to—in this life and the next. Divine hope offers both of these, as the final two blogposts in our series on hope will show. Before we close this series on hope with the topic of eternal hope and how that brings comfort and courage to our souls, we shall look at how to handle deferred hope, that is, the disappointments in life when things are delayed and things don’t work out the way we hoped. How you bounce back from setbacks and failure will shape who you are and determine where you will go in life. This is important.

We need hope especially when hope is deferred. We need to find the strength to continue hoping when the ‘going gets tough.’ We all know the pain of disappointments when what we hoped for didn’t come to pass or how something beautiful was taken away from us—it’s painful.

‘Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life.’ Proverbs 13:12 NIV

When what we long for is delayed or even denied, it has a negative, sometimes even traumatic, effect on our hearts. But when good things we hoped for come to pass, it truly is a ‘tree of life,’ speaking of nourishment, sustenance and strength. The Tree of Life in the Garden of Eden gave eternal life to humanity, but we lost access to it because of sin. Yet there is hope. Proverbs compares the power of divine life with a hope that became a reality. Apart from that, divine wisdom (Proverbs 3:13–18), the fruit of righteousness (11:30), and a healing tongue (15:4) are also ways that illustrate the power of the ‘tree of life,’ i.e., life-giving sustenance. But how do we guard our hearts from the negative effects of hope deferred? We don’t want a sick heart and lose courage in life.

The God of the Bible is the God of hope who gives us hope and strengthens us with hope (Romans 15:13). The many stories of hope in the Bible give us comfort, encouragement and strength in life (Romans 15:4), so we will have hope and won’t despair over what is wrong, painful and difficult in life. With divine hope in our hearts, we can endure loss and suffering without having the kind of sorrows like those who have no hope in life. We have hope in this life and for the life to come—eternal life. When hope is deferred, we need to persevere in hope. Here’s how.

We must handle the negative effects of disappointments without changing who we are. We must stay true to ourselves and overcome evil by doing good, and avoid revenge and bitterness (Romans 12:21). Negative effects can corrupt us—and we can’t allow that. By doing good despite the challenges we face, we avoid the corruption of bitterness. Joseph stayed true to his good-natured soul: he served others while unjustly sentenced to prison. He actually did what was right (refused sexual pleasure with his boss’ wife), yet was falsely accused and sentenced to prison without evidence or even a trial. Life isn’t always fair, but God is always good.

Joseph’s hope was deferred, yet not denied. God would fulfil the dream He gave him years earlier, but the way that worked out for Joseph was probably not how he imagined it. God is faithful and was working out His purpose for him and through him for the people, including his brothers who betrayed him and the people who imprisoned him. God has a way to fulfil His promises despite the opposition against you or the obstacles you need to overcome on the way to reaching your destiny. Joseph’s desire was fulfilled and it was a tree of life to him and those around him. What others planned for evil God turned around for something good (see Genesis 50:20). This was Joseph’s conclusion at the end when desire was fulfilled, after hope had been deferred but not denied. God is faithful. If it’s worth waiting for, wait for it.

Enduring suffering for others has a powerful reward for you and great effects on others around you. Keep walking, keep going, persevere until the end. Keep your eyes on the author and finisher of your faith, the Alpha and Omega of life, the Beginning and the End—Jesus Christ! It is vital to rejoice in hope and be patient during trials to stay true to oneself, to keep one’s heart pure. Guard your heart (Proverbs 4:23). Guard your mind (Isaiah 26:3). Prayer helps greatly as God’s peace keeps us steady (Philippians 4:6–7). Prayer keeps us close to God and pure in heart so we won’t change for the worse because of circumstances or pain. There are enough evil people out there who even cover their evil deeds with a sense of righteous appearance. They call good ‘evil’ and evil ‘good’ (cf., Isaiah 5:20). It is a sign of a corrupt society where morality is twisted and moral clarity is absent. We can rest assured, as Charlie Chaplin said, ‘Nothing is permanent in this wicked world, not even our troubles.’ There is hope!

Stay faithful to God and His truth no matter what hits you in life. The Almighty sees and knows everything. He strongly supports those whose hearts are loyal to Him (2 Chronicles 16:9a). He will vindicate the righteous. Don’t worry because of evildoers who get away with it and those who prosper by fraud and lies. Remain steadfast in trusting God—He will work things out for you. Evil won’t triumph forever (read Psalm 37). When hope is deferred, keep rejoicing in hope—even in hope against hope—be patient in trials and remain devoted to prayer (Romans 12:12). Always pursue to overcome evil by doing good, and never fall for the trap of becoming evil yourself (v 21). Stay true to yourself. Don’t allow the corruption around you to corrupt the goodness inside of you. Remember, a boat doesn’t sink because of the water around it, but because of the water in it. Don’t allow water into your ‘boat.’

When hope is deferred, keep rejoicing in hope, be patient in trials and remain devoted to prayer until the desire is fulfilled—it’s a ‘tree of life.’

Hope deferred is not hope denied.