Beyond Hope Deferred

A Proverb of Scripture says

'Hope Deferred makes the heart sick'

Every one of us knows that horrid feeling of deflation where hope seems to have ebbed from our souls like a sagging party balloon. From being over-looked when teams are picked in the play-ground, the teen-age crush turned heart-break, a redundancy that comes out of left-field - 'restructuring' - a recessionary term that classically understates the trauma caused, to the greatest diappointments life can throw at us - marriage dreams shattered, tragic deaths...the list goes on and on. The potential for 'Hope deferred' seems endless.

Bill Johnson has described the HOPE God gives as 'the soil faith grows in'. It provides the necessary spiritual context for faith to take root and grow . Clearly despair is metaphorically soil that has gone toxic, the heart has grown sick as hope has been deferred.

Hope is the light that shines the way ahead for us. The Bible portrays many promises that seem utterly elusive amidst 'wilderness' experiences of utter despair and darkness.

History tells us that God is not a God though of heartless and tantalising mirages

but rather a God of substance,faithfulness and justice who is true to His Sovereign plan even when life appears to take detours and descend into dark times.

Many are indeed experiencing those 'dark times' in our times where 'Hope deferred' has made their hearts sick. Its a horrible place to be in. The Gospel is Good News and is found in the Person, the Hope of the Nations, the Promised One, Jesus Christ. The Gospel by definition is hope for the hopeless and in this more than some 'comfort blanket', but more substantially - mercy to the undeserving, Grace to the lawless, all because of one PERFECT SACRIFICE for sin.

Any of us who regard ourselves as followers of Christ are supposed to be the mid-wives of this hope into the world, ambassadors of another kingdom. For this to happen, dear friends, let us throw off the chains that bind us, and drink the delights of our God, even in tough times, that will help make sick hearts rejoice! Look beyond the mists and drunken confusion of your own disappointment and hope once more...its Christ in us that is 'the hope of glory'

Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as it had been said to him, "So shall your offspring be." Romans 4v18