Hope Deferred

^{I have chosen the verse that speaks to me today, which of these verses speaks most to you?  Can you journal about your verses?  Is there a visual that you get from reading the scriptures?  Can you include these mental images into your journaling today? 
11} Dishonest money dwindles away,
    but whoever gathers money little by little makes it grow.

¹² Hope deferred makes the heart sick,
    but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life.

¹³ Whoever scorns instruction will pay for it,
    but whoever respects a command is rewarded.

¹⁴ The teaching of the wise is a fountain of life,
    turning a person from the snares of death.

¹⁵ Good judgment wins favor,
    but the way of the unfaithful leads to their destruction

Hope deferred makes the heart sick.  Have you ever been there?  Pressing in for hope, or the expectation of goodness, for long periods- through the wilderness and through the dry season. In Luke we are introduced to Simeon. Simeon is found in Luke 2:25

²⁵ Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was on him. ²⁶ It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah. ²⁷ Moved by the Spirit, he went into the temple courts. When the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what the custom of the Law required, ²⁸ Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying:

²⁹ “Sovereign Lord, as you have promised,
    you may now dismiss^[d] your servant in peace.
³⁰ For my eyes have seen your salvation,
³¹     which you have prepared in the sight of all nations:
³² a light for revelation to the Gentiles,
    and the glory of your people Israel.”

³³ The child’s father and mother marveled at what was said about him

We learn right away that the Holy Spirit was on Him, a friend, a constant presence. A known God. He was promised that he would not die before seeing the Messiah. Simeon waited and prayed and listened to the Holy Spirit. Simeon, unlike Samson, knew and felt the presence of His God, and He listened- many long days in the temple, he listened and waited.

I know that sometimes I get in God’s way by thinking I know what answered prayer is going to look like.  Did Simeon expect a baby to come into the temple as the messiah, or a man- full grown, with a steely determination found in his eyes?  Do I miss the answer to my prayers because they are not housed in the way I had imagined?

Maybe you feel like hope is deferred and you have given up waiting on the answered prayer. You are in conflict, because your expectations are not meeting up with your circumstances.  Yesterday we saw that pride is found within conflict, or strife. Is it pride that says that we know better than God, what our answered prayers should look like – an when they should be answered?

Simeon was in constant communication with the Holy Spirit as he waited. He held onto the promise that he would see the messiah, and he waited for the answer to come as God would deliver it.  A longing fulfilled is a tree of life.  Simeon saw his longing satisfied and he REJOICED.  When the longings of one’s heart is realized, in the perfect plan of God’s sovereignty- our hearts are restored and revived.

Friend, don’t give up today. God is a covenant keeper. He does not forget the promises that He makes to His children. Rest in the council and comfort of the Holy Spirit while God works a miracle in your life. He remembers. He is working all things out for your good. It has been a long walk and you are exhausted.  Don’t give up on the promises of God. Release the expectation of what it "should" look like and embrace the expectation and anticipation of MORE than you can fathom or imagine as God shows up in your circumstances. He is never late and He knows your beginning and your endings. Don't give up!