Bill Johnson - Hope Deferred Makes the Heart Sick
Every person has abundant resources within reach to make their life fulfilling. I don’t care what continent they live on, what nation they belong to, or what economy they are part of; there is a relative abundance within reach of every person. However, the problem is that there is a lot of injustice, and injustice keeps people from accessing what God has made available to them. Well, hello again! I’m glad that you could join us as we look at chapter 13 of Proverbs. We are on this quest for wisdom, to learn how to reign in life in a way that brings glory to God and establishes family lines for multiple generations that openly testify to God’s goodness. Here in chapter 13, it begins by saying in verse 2: «A man shall eat well by the fruit of his mouth.» We ended our last session with that same concept, that our speech determines what we feed on. So here it is: a man shall eat well by the fruit of his mouth; the soul of the unfaithful feeds on violence. He who guards his mouth preserves his life. I love the verse that says, «Even a fool, when he is kept silent, is thought to be wise.» So when in doubt, just don’t say anything, as it keeps us from overspeaking and actually bringing calamity into our own lives.
Let’s move down to verse 13, which is one of the most important verses for me in the last 30 years: «Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but when desire comes, it is the tree of life.» A New American Standard version says, «When desire is realized, it is a tree of life.» Think through this; this concept is worthy of a whole session. «Hope deferred makes the heart sick.» What does that mean? It doesn’t mean that when you face disappointment, you’re automatically thrust into some emotional calamity. It just means you’re vulnerable. In that place of vulnerability, you have to make right choices because mourning can take you in one of two directions. Mourning will either take you to the Comforter; «Blessed are they who mourn, for they shall be comforted,» or mourning will lead you to unbelief. We must be careful when there’s disappointment because it brings a sense of loss. When things don’t work out as we expected, we become vulnerable; that’s why it says it makes the heart sick. It opens you up to a vulnerability spiritually that is not healthy. So just realize what is going on, take charge of your own heart, your own thoughts, your own prayer life, your own confessions, and your decrees over your own life. Make sure you’re saying the things that will nourish your soul.
So here it is: «Hope deferred makes the heart sick,» but this next part is exciting for me: «Desire realized is a tree of life.» The tree of life is mentioned in three books of the Bible: Genesis, Proverbs, and Revelation. One way I like to look at it is that Genesis talks about what was, Revelation talks about what will be, but Proverbs talks about the tree of life that exists here and now. The tree of life helps to establish and define our eternal purpose in this life. So when it talks about a tree of life, we’re not speaking of just some random fruit; we’re referring to something protected in the Garden of Eden, where the angel safeguarded Adam and Eve from eating it after they sinned, as it would mark their life of sin as their eternal condition. It marks with eternity whatever it touches.
It’s interesting because it says that the tree of life is connected to a desire realized. What does that say? It indicates that you and I were designed to be dreamers, and our assignment in co-laboring with the Lord is to be so completely yielded to Him that He can trust us with our dreams and help fulfill those dreams because that is our connection to our eternal purpose. You and I will reign with Christ for all eternity; we will not be sitting on clouds playing harps. Heaven is a very industrious place, and we have responsibilities there. Desire realized is actually training for eternity.
Now, let’s move on to verse 17: «A wicked messenger falls into trouble, but a faithful ambassador brings health.» There it is again; health is connected to a faithful messenger. A faithful messenger has a message, a decree, and a proclamation. One of the best things you and I can do is to listen continuously to words of truth as they impact our soul and mind, which subsequently impacts our entire physical bodies and health. So I encourage you in that! Then let’s walk down to the last verse for today, which is verse 23: «Much food is in the foul ground of the poor, and injustice brings waste.» I think the New American Standard Version says, «And injustice keeps the wealth separated from the sinners.»
Let’s go through it again; I need to say it clearly: «Much food is in the foul ground of the poor.» What is that telling us? Every person has abundant resources within reach to make their life fulfilling. I don’t care what continent they live on, what nation they belong to, or what economy they are part of; there is a relative abundance within reach for every person. However, the problem is that there is a lot of injustice, and injustice prevents people from accessing what God has made available to them. Now, here’s where you and I come in. Jesus gave us authority, and one of the primary purposes of authority is to deal with injustice. It’s to speak on behalf of those who have little to no voice. For example, abortion is the classic case where the infant has no voice; someone has to speak for that child in the womb who desires life and length of days. They already have emotions; their minds are working; they are being prepared to live on this planet in a purposeful way. Yet, abortion kills them, and someone needs to advocate for those with no voice.
That’s what authority does: it addresses issues of injustice. Sometimes, we find people who have faced multiple generations of poverty; it becomes nearly impossible for them to break free. Somebody has to come alongside and help them. Let me say this about poverty: money alone will not fix it, but poverty will not be addressed without money. If you throw money at a problem, it doesn’t fix it because they will face the same issues again. Why? Because other factors contribute to true biblical justice, which restores a person to God’s original intent and design. I believe the Lord will give us wisdom in this next season to come alongside some of our beloved community members who have been locked in poverty for generations. We can nurture desires, disciple, develop, challenge, provide opportunities, and break that injustice so they can tap into the abundant resources God has designed for them, which is right within reach. That’s my prayer—that together we would be a people who care correctly about the injustices of this world and, with divine authority, bring solutions. So I bless you with that, and I pray that you and I will thrive with creative ideas on how to serve people locked in poverty, so that they would taste God’s abundance. Amen. Bless you!