I learned a lesson about waiting when hope is deferred this morning, on an ordinary walk with my dog. It’s based on the Bible verse below, and I pray it encourages you.
Waiting When Hope is Deferred
Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a dream fulfilled is a tree of life.
Proverbs 13:12 NLT
I’ve been waiting for the low temps to get above 50 degrees so I can plant my little seedlings outdoors. The wait is always long between Christmas and April, because seasonal affective disorder drags me down. But I have been trusting that spring is coming, as it has come every year.
Now I’m waiting for life to return to normal, when I can go to town without thinking, just for fun. When I can go to church services and Stephen Ministry training without worrying about close contact. When my 16-year-old son can finally take his driver’s license test, and all three of our children can return to school.
Since the initial shock of the pandemic has worn off, we’re weary of waiting. As new restrictions unfold by the day, we’re not sure how long the wait will last. Our hope is wearing thin. Maybe yours is too.
This morning my dog Memphis could hardly wait to go on his walk, otherwise known as a “sniffcapade.” His whole body wagged when I said that magic word. Since the morning was cool, I donned my winter coat and grabbed my phone before clipping the leash on his collar.
Signs of Hope
Signs of spring welcomed us right away. Birds chirping. Bright green moss spreading.
Spring beauty flowers nodded their heads in the slight breeze.
Grape hyacinths greeted the day.
The may apples twirled their parasols.
The white blooms on the serviceberry tree smiled back at me.
The still-closed redbud blossoms whispered, “Come back tomorrow and see us open up.”
Memphis and I walked down the hill, where the paved county road turns into gravel. There, he stuck his snout into something interesting at the base of a mustard plant. These knee-high plants always bloom bright yellow at the beginning of spring. A cole crop, they aren’t bothered by the swings between cold and warm temps this time of year.
As my pup sniffed the plant base, the yellow petals fell on his face and ears. He delighted in the scent I couldn’t detect.
We turned onto the backward J-shaped county road that connects ours with the country highway, where we enjoy our walk most. It’s as if we have that quiet road all to ourselves.
Heading northward, the mustard plants filled the roadside. They seemed held back only by the gravel on the left, and the fence on the right. Their yellow blossoms declared joy in unison, too hard to miss.
We continued walking down the road, through the woods and beside the cow pasture to the small bridge over the creek. By the water, an even greater throng of mustard plants sang their Hallelujah chorus to our creator.
Is Your Heart Sick?
Friend, if your heart is feeling sick today, maybe it’s because your hope has been deferred.
Parties postponed.
Sports seasons stopped.
Graduations up in the air.
Weddings moved months ahead.
Vacations canceled.
We all have something to grieve right now. A loss of freedom, health, convenience, or comfort. Adjusting to this new normal, overnight, is exhausting. We will never forget this spring of struggle.
Maybe your heart is sick with fear, frustration or fatigue. Perhaps your hope is hanging on by a thread.
When your heart feels sick, it is tempting to get off track with the wrong things. Emotional things like bitterness, self-pity, and grudges. Relational things like lashing out, withdrawing, and complaining. Pleasurable things like too much food, wine, television, or social media.
If we learn nothing else from this challenging spring, may it be that we must place our hope in our Creator alone.
If we learn nothing else from this challenging #spring, may it be that we must place our #hope in our Creator alone. #faith #pandemic Click To Tweet
Infused Hope
Spring is God’s idea. I don’t think it’s any coincidence that this pandemic is occurring when hope is blooming outside our doors. If it’s not at your door yet, it’s coming soon.
God has infused the Christian life with so much hope that it’s sticking to your face, your hands, your heart. This hope is rooted in Isaiah 53:5-6, which tells us that Jesus suffered for our sake so we could be healed and whole. Reach out and touch this hope, turn it over, and study its brightness through Christian meditation.
Isaiah wrote that passage hundreds of years before the Messiah was born. He hoped in a Messiah to come. We now stand on the other side of that hope, as Easter people. We are looking forward to the hope in Jesus’ return, when he will take us where the tree of life will heal the nations.
Our hearts can become sick with hope in the wrong things. If we place our ultimate hope in people, places, events, institutions, and even our dreams, we will surely lose hope, because the whole world as we know it is passing away.
But if we place our ultimate hope in God alone, he will be a tree of life for us.
Jesus said if we have faith as small as a mustard seed, nothing is impossible for us. Maybe a mustard plant was brushing his knee when he spoke those words. Perhaps later, he held a seed from that plant in his hands when he compared a mustard seed to the kingdom of God. A seed you plant in your heart that becomes a tree of life.
If you are heartsick today, go somewhere quiet and pour out your heart to God. Let him hear your hurt, fear, frustration and grief. Hold nothing back. Then ask him to plant hope in your heart that will grow to be a tree of life. A tree with yellow blossoms of hope, that will prosper in every season, no matter the changes life brings.
If we place our ultimate hope in God alone, he will be a tree of life for us. #hope #treeoflife #pandemic #faith Click To Tweet
Prayer:
Heavenly Father,
Thank you for tucking hope into every corner of my life.
I confess that I focus on the muddy road, rocky path,
cold winds, or grey clouds
instead of opening my eyes
to the yellow blossoms that bloom bright, every day.
Today, I’m looking for signs of hope
since I want my heart to be whole, not sick.
I’m placing my full trust in you alone.
To you, I pour out my hurts, fears and frustrations
because you can handle them perfectly.
You will restore hope in my heart.
I thank you for being my tree of life,
which does not wither in any season.
In Jesus’ name, Amen.
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