Publisher’s Note: We are delighted to introduce you to Alviana Johnson, our newest guest “Voices” blogger for Voices Against the Grain! Alviana joins us from Oakland, California and desires to encourage our younger generation in overcoming their struggles. You may read her bio here. Welcome, Alviana, and thank you for desiring to be an instrument for sharing the gospel in today’s culture.

Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but when the desire comes it is a tree of life. (Proverbs 13:12, New King James Version)

Deferred: postponed or delayed

An example of “deferred” would be a baseball game postponed due to rain. I’ve seen where the game would be delayed without an actual timeframe of when it would start again. Most fans would leave. But then three hours after it had been delayed, the game would resume.

As a fan, I could:

• stay during the duration of the delay
• leave unsure of when the game would resume, come back later
• leave frustrated and not return

Looking at this through the lens of our relationship with God, there are times when we are hoping for something and He’s the One we’re trusting in to make it happen.

While we’re waiting, either we will:

• faithfully hope in the Lord
• stray and repent
• turn our back on God and do life without Him

The Word teaches us in Proverbs 10:24 that “the desire of the righteous will be granted.” As I mentioned before, our hope was deferred not depleted.

Depleted: diminish or empty

That means for you, child of God, there is still a reason for us to hope in the result we expect. The timeframe may have been pushed back, but the prize is still on the way.

Hope deferred makes the heart sick.

When the thing we were hoping for God to fulfill doesn’t happen in the timeframe we thought it would, it causes us to feel sorrowful. No matter how much we cry out to God; asking, seeking, knocking; there’s that feeling of sorrow that we didn’t receive what we wanted. And sometimes Satan will take that opportunity to cast seeds of doubt in our minds about God or His goodness or His faithfulness.

But God hasn’t deserted His child. He hasn’t given up on keeping His promise.

Our faith is being tested. But even if we fail the test of faith, God will remain faithful. (2 Timothy 2:13)

The second part of Proverbs 13 starts by saying, “WHEN the desire comes”; also in Proverbs 10:24(b) it states “the desire of the righteous WILL be granted.”

We can continue to have hope in the Lord because we know His character: He does not lie (Numbers 23:19). We know His track record: He is faithful (Lamentations 3:22-23). We know the testimony of others: I have never seen the righteous forsaken or his children begging bread (Psalm 37:25).

A (promise) we receive from the Lord Jesus is found in John 15:7: If we abide in Him and His words abide in us, we can ask for what we desire and it SHALL be done for us.

With the knowledge of God and the truth of His Word, we can continue to hope in Him and believe that He is for us and not against us.

Rebuke Satan. Hope in the Lord. Declare biblical truths truth over your life.

Blessings,

Alviana