Hope Deferred

Proverbs 13:12  "Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but when the desire comes, it is a tree of life."

Matthew Henry's commentary:
Note, 1. Nothing is more grievous than the disappointment of a raised expectation, though not in the thing itself by a denial, yet in the time of it by a delay: Hope deferred makes the heart sick and languishing, fretful and peevish; but hope quite dashed kills the heart, and the more high the expectation was raised the more cutting is the frustration of it. It is therefore our wisdom not to promise ourselves any great matters from the creature, not to feed ourselves with any vain hopes from this world, lest we lay up matter for our own vexation; and what we do hope for let us prepare to be disappointed in, that, if it should prove so, it may prove the easier; and let us not be hasty. 2. Nothing is more grateful than to enjoy that, at last, which we have long wished and waited for: When the desire does come it puts men into a sort of paradise, a garden of pleasure, for it is a tree of life. It will aggravate the eternal misery of the wicked that their hopes will be frustrated; and it will make the happiness of heaven the more welcome to the saints that it is what they have earnestly longed for as the crown of their hopes. (italics mine)

In a recent conversation with a friend, this verse came to my mind. In an attempt to share it, I was drawn to the truth that lies within.  As I read Mr. Henry's thoughts, I realized how this verse applies to every area of our lives. Relationships, child training, a quiet evening to myself ;), or the pursuit of job opportunities.

It *is* our wisdom if we keep our hopes rooted in the Creator rather than the created. It is my own foolishness then, that causes such hurt, frustration and disappointment when I am deferred by another.  I was unwise to place my hope there in the first place. 

Practically speaking, I am called to hope in the promises of the Lord's provision and purposes regarding our time of waiting for jobs to come in. This season of waiting is His gift to us for more reasons than I can comprehend. I am to count it as all joy (James 1:2-4). I am foolish to hope in the offers and enticements given by those who make promises of work when they do not hold the future in their hands. When I have rightly placed my hope, it will be one more step on the journey that leads me closer to what I "earnestly long for...the Crown of my Hopes."

I Know Who Holds Tomorrow
Hymn by Ira F. Stanphill, 1950

I don't know about tomorrow;
I just live from day to day.
I don't borrow from its sunshine,
For its skies may turn to gray.
I don't worry o'er the future,
For I know what Jesus said;
And today I'll walk beside Him,
For He knows what lies ahead.

Ev'ry step is getting brighter
As the golden stairs I climb;
Ev'ry burden's getting lighter;
Ev'ry cloud is silver lined.
There the sun is always shining;
There no tear will dim the eye
At the ending of the rainbow,
Where the mountains touch the sky.

I don't know about tomorrow--
It may bring me poverty;
But the One who feeds the sparrow
Is the one who stands by me.
And the path that is my portion
May be through the flame or flood;
But His presence goes before me,
And I'm covered with His blood.

Many things about tomorrow
I don't seem to understand;
But I know who holds tomorrow,
And I know who holds my hand.