Hope Deferred

WEEKLY DEVOTIONAL BY PATRICE TSAGUE

Have your hopes been delayed? Is the current economic crisis impacting your faith and convictions? How do you remain hopeful in the midst of disappointments and discouragement? 

Hope deferred makes the heart sick, But desire fulfilled is a tree of life. – Proverbs 13:12 (NASB)

Hope Deferred

The economic crisis of the last several years has swept many Kingdom business stewards’ hopes away. Some had plans to have a great Kingdom impact, perhaps believing God would retire them from a secular career and be re-purposed in another area of ministry or service. 

Others planned to get out of debt but have yet to make progress. Still, others planned to give a certain amount of tithe, donate, expand their businesses, or start new businesses in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. But the economic crisis, or perhaps other trials, swept away their savings and reduced their income, and for many, even brought them to the point of bankruptcy.

The Bible says that hope deferred makes the heart sick. When it seems as though we’re losing our hopes and dreams, we risk losing something of even deeper value: our “Godfidence” (our faith, trust, and confidence in God as our Comforter, Healer, and Provider). We begin to doubt whether or not He has good plans for us. Without “Godfidence”, we’re tempted to just give up, quit dreaming, and quit trying.

Hope is the anticipation of a desired future. Hope keeps you going when nothing around you seems to work. Hope is the heartbeat of future dreams and goals. When you have no hope, no matter how realistic your goals are or how rewarding the promise is, you will not persevere with your goals and inevitably quit.

What causes our hope to be deferred? Our hope is deferred when we put our hope in the wrong things. Whenever our hope is bound by anything tangible, it is at risk of being deferred. We live in a sinful world. No matter how comprehensive our plans, how righteous our walk is, or how worthy our goals are, they will not always come together in the way that we envision them.

Our hope must always be based on the unchanging nature and character of Jesus Christ.

In Luke 24, we read that two of the disciples of Jesus are walking along the road, traveling to a village called Emmaus. Just days earlier, Jesus had been crucified. As they walked, they began to speak with sadness about what had just occurred in Jerusalem. As they were speaking, Jesus drew near them and asked why they were so sad. The disciples did not recognize that it was Jesus. They responded by recapping the events of the past few days – how their leader had been condemned to death and crucified. Their hope had been that He would redeem Israel, but now that hope had been deferred. 

Jesus rebuked them for their faithlessness and reminded them of all of the Scriptural promises that had been fulfilled through His life, ministry, death, and resurrection. As they were sitting and sharing a meal, He opened their eyes and revealed Himself to them.

The disciples had lost hope because they had taken their eyes off Jesus and forgotten the Scriptures that foretold everything that they had witnessed. They had become solely focused on short-term loss and immediate desires.

Whenever we focus too much on our circumstances instead of keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus, our hope can easily become deferred. When hope is deferred, this can cause our faith to become shipwrecked. Hope deferred can also tempt us to lean upon our own understanding and to try to “help God” by creating our own path instead of patiently following His. 

This was the case with Abraham and Sarah as they were waiting for the child of promise. They became impatient because they felt that they were becoming too old for the promise to be fulfilled, and so they made arrangements with their maid to carry a child for them. The result was Ishmael, and the effect of their actions is still causing problems today.

How do you prevent your faith from becoming shipwrecked, and how do you restrain yourself from coming up with your own plans and going your own way when hope is deferred?

1. Remember that “deferred” does not mean “denied” (Habakkuk 2:3)
2. Make sure your hope is based on God’s will for you (Romans 12:2)
3. Distinguish between God’s will and your personal dreams and desires (Psalm 37:4-5)
4. Ask if this hope is anchored on your faith – Jesus is our hope (Colossians 1:27)
5. Know that God will work all things together for your good (Romans 8:28)
6. Keep in mind that your timing is not God’s timing (Ecclesiastes 3:1)
7. Rejoice for such is the will of God concerning you (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18)
8. Ask and trust others for wise counsel (Proverbs 11:14)

Like you, my wife and I have been on a long journey to realize a vision that we believe is from God – but when we began the journey, we did not realize it would take this long! We have had to constantly renew our faith and diligently keep our eyes fixed on Jesus so that we can persevere in hope. 

What keeps us encouraged is the joy of seeing the many lives that have been transformed and the Kingdom businesses that have been raised up and that are creating jobs and supplying resources to the Kingdom due to our obedience. There is also the joy of knowing that we are being used by the King of kings and the Lord of lords. These are the fulfilled desires of obeying God’s call that spring up like a tree of life, as the Scripture says. 

The struggles that we encounter along the way help to keep us on our knees, maintain humility, and, most importantly, keep our eyes on Him so that hope is always there.

Has your hope been deferred? Whatever the circumstances you find yourself in, do not yield to the temptation to create your own path. Do not give up hope!

There is a suffering that comes with the sense of loss and personal disappointment. Learn to endure it with joy, knowing that He who began a good work in you shall complete it until the day of Jesus Christ (Philippians 1:6). He will work all things together for your good because you love Him and are called according to His purpose.

My prayer for you today is that God will grant you the grace to hope in the midst of your trials and that He will give you renewed faith in His plans and purposes for your life and business.