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When hope’s dream seems to drag on and on,
the delay can be depressing.
But when at last your dream comes true,
life’s sweetness will satisfy your soul. Proverbs 13:12
I like to study out a verse of Proverbs at a time to dig deep for all its wisdom. Yesterday it was Proverbs 13:12. First of all hope to Solomon meant much more than the word hope means today. Today it’s just a wish, but to Solomon, it was something God promised and he believed it would come to pass when you trusted God and followed His leading to see it manifest not only in your own life, but in the lives of others.
When we read this verse, we too often think of all the big dreams and hopes that seem to have passed us by and how disappointed and devastated we might be because of it. But I read a commentary that made me look at this verse from a different angle. What about the little hopes we have that have been deferred and take a toll on us even more so than the big ones? For example, when someone promises to do something to help you, but they never follow through. The first time may be irritating, but beyond that it also affects your trust of that person and if they fail you enough, you just stop asking. Think about how their not keeping their commitment has affected you, and be honest. This is one of those cracks the enemy likes to make you think is no big deal, but just like a crack in a foundation, if it’s not taken care of it will only get worse and cause more damage and problems. Admit it bothered and may have even hurt you, ask Holy Spirit to reveal the damage and then take those wounds to the Lord for healing. It not only will stop the enemy from doing more damage, but it will also help you to continue to hope and trust in other areas. You can hold on to the hope until it comes to fruition and you can truly enjoy the fruit of your perseverance.
Now as encouraging as that sounds, there is another side to this coin. Think about any ways you might have deferred someone else’s hopes. Have you every made a promise to someone and didn’t follow through? Even if there was a good reason it affected that person, especially if you never even respected them enough to explain why you couldn’t. We have become a very dismissive self-centered society and if it doesn’t affect us, then it shouldn’t affect anyone else. This is not only wrong thinking but it is very destructive on so many levels. We need to become more diligent in our care for others, after all, Jesus commanded us to love others as He loved us; like it or not that means considering how our actions and decisions affect others. Think about how that simple act would not only make the world a better place, but change it
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