Proverbs 13:12, Cherish the Hope!

Posted on Posted in Devotions Tagged with ,

July 7, Proverbs 13:12

Revelation 22 “The hope which is laid up for you in heaven” (Col. 1:5).

Cherish the Hope!

Hope is an eager, waiting desire, implying future good, and possibility of obtainment. Hope fulfilled is beautiful, but unsatisfied means bitterness and loss.

1. God’s Timing: Hope deferred! That believing remnant in Israel continued to long for Messiah’s coming as they that watch for the morning (Ps. 130:6). While they waited for the consolation of Israel, hope deferred made the heart sick, but they waited on (Lu. 2:25)! The hope seemed hopeless, the years of struggle disappointing, its realisation still far distant. Yet, this was all part of God’s timing. It would not be good if their or our hope came at once. Remember God’s encouraging word to Habakkuk: The vision is for an appointed time; though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come (2:2-3).

2. God’s Testing: Hope deferred maketh the heart sick. Delays are trying, but true hope abides. Delays are not denials. Many confuse the biblical hope with the vague hope-so of the world. The NT teaching is both abundant and clear. We are told to hold fast the hope to the end (Heb. 3:6). The same Apostle, who teaches we are saved by faith, declares, just as firmly, we are saved by hope (Rom. 8:23-25). Peter says believers are begotten again unto a lively hope by the resurrection. Do we ever confess we have little hope, yet we would not say we had little faith or little love? Is not hope a gift of the Holy Spirit as much as faith and love (1 Cor. 13:13)? Is not Christ also ours by faith and hope in God (1 Pt. 1:3; 21)? It is in this hope that we rise above the doubts of sin and fear. The testing stimulates greater effort, and strengthens faith. The athlete, through the testing, has his eye on the goal. The years of study cultivate patience in the student as he or she thinks of graduation day. It develops patience in missionary and pastor to work on for God’s promised harvest that most surely will come (Jas. 5:7-8).

3. God’s Triumphing: When the desire cometh, it is a tree of life. The hope becomes reality. God does not deceive. What a triumph is this Tree of Life (Rv. 22:2) that speaks of reviving of drooping spirits. The longer the toil, the greater the enjoyment when the hope comes at last. Abraham called the child of promise Isaac, that is, Laughter. When the Lord turned again the captivity of Zion there was Laughter (Ps. 126). When old Simeon at last saw the consolation of Israel, holy song broke out. What joy when believers see the Person of all their hopes, the Lord Jesus, at His Glorious Appearing! What triumphing of hopes there will be for all that wait for Him! Arnot points out that the first clause is universal, but the second is a dividing word. The fulfilment of that hope belongs only to believers. Many, alas, after long waiting, will only find a withered branch not the Tree of Life! Which will it be for you, dear reader? Will you share in that Hope Triumphant?

Thought: “I’m not looking for death; I’m looking for Him.” Are you?

Prayer: For the patience that is willing to wait.