Powerless Verses Hopeless
“Hope delayed makes the heart sick, but desire fulfilled is a tree of life.” Proverbs 13:12
This past weekend, I performed a wedding for a young couple who live in Northern California. On Sunday, as I was waiting at the airport for my flight, I was watching our worship service, enjoying the worship, and Pastor Paul’s sermon.
About ten minutes into Pastor’s sermon, a woman, named Carol, was sitting a seat away from me asked if I was listening to a church service. I told her that it was my church in Quartzsite Arizona. Then she said, “I heard the preacher say something about being protected by God from our enemies.” I told Carol that Pastor Paul was preaching from Psalm 35 and it’s a great encouragement to us.
This conversation came around to Carol feeling frustrated and hopeless about a family situation. So I shared with her about the hope I have in God before we boarded the plane.
I shared that there are times in our lives that we may feel powerless, but powerlessness is not the same as hopelessness. You see, Carol was really feeling powerless to fix a personal problem, so I helped her to know that powerlessness at times is a good place to be because that’s when we are more dependent on God. Our hope is in God, our hope is in His power, and our hope is in His grace when we are at our weakest. It’s just as Jesus told the apostle Paul on the road to Damascus, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.”
I helped Carol to understand that hope in earthly things is not a sure thing! It’s one thing to put hope in man’s solutions, but it’s something totally different to put hope in God’s solutions! Why is that? Because man’s wisdom is so temporal and limited, and it can change with the wind or with our feelings. But hope-filled wisdom that Christians depend on is fixed on the perspective of God and the promises of God. Carol needed to know that God was not absent from her problem, and that He was very present with her. And then trust His perspective regarding her problem. And isn’t that what all of us must do?
The above Bible verse needs to be planted in all of our hearts!
When our expectations are delayed, we can experience disappointment, discouragement, and disillusionment. Hope delayed or deferred when we are waiting for a job, battling a health issue, or as Carol shared, struggling with three painful miscarriages can seem like forever. As we eagerly hope for something important and it’s postponed, the longing can make our heart sick.
But let’s not forget the second part of the verse because it gives us the opposite of hope delayed, “but desire fulfilled is a tree of life.” The tree of life represents the renewal of life and refreshing times that we can put our hope in. The promises of God help us to hold on tight in some of our most difficult situations. When the good arrives we feel a revived spirit. When "all things work together for good" that's when we see each puzzle come together. Isn't it a great feeling when we TRUST God’s timing for each problem's puzzle piece?
This is so important - when trust is lacking or underdeveloped we struggle to depend on God’s perspective and His promises during the dark days.
Remember as I said a moment ago, our hope must be fixed on God’s perspective and God’s promises! Carol needed to know that God was not absent from her problem, and that He’s very much a promise keeper if she trusts Him as she walks THROUGH the valley! And isn’t that what all of us need to do too?
God bless you!
Pastor Dave
This past weekend, I performed a wedding for a young couple who live in Northern California. On Sunday, as I was waiting at the airport for my flight, I was watching our worship service, enjoying the worship, and Pastor Paul’s sermon.
About ten minutes into Pastor’s sermon, a woman, named Carol, was sitting a seat away from me asked if I was listening to a church service. I told her that it was my church in Quartzsite Arizona. Then she said, “I heard the preacher say something about being protected by God from our enemies.” I told Carol that Pastor Paul was preaching from Psalm 35 and it’s a great encouragement to us.
This conversation came around to Carol feeling frustrated and hopeless about a family situation. So I shared with her about the hope I have in God before we boarded the plane.
I shared that there are times in our lives that we may feel powerless, but powerlessness is not the same as hopelessness. You see, Carol was really feeling powerless to fix a personal problem, so I helped her to know that powerlessness at times is a good place to be because that’s when we are more dependent on God. Our hope is in God, our hope is in His power, and our hope is in His grace when we are at our weakest. It’s just as Jesus told the apostle Paul on the road to Damascus, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.”
I helped Carol to understand that hope in earthly things is not a sure thing! It’s one thing to put hope in man’s solutions, but it’s something totally different to put hope in God’s solutions! Why is that? Because man’s wisdom is so temporal and limited, and it can change with the wind or with our feelings. But hope-filled wisdom that Christians depend on is fixed on the perspective of God and the promises of God. Carol needed to know that God was not absent from her problem, and that He was very present with her. And then trust His perspective regarding her problem. And isn’t that what all of us must do?
The above Bible verse needs to be planted in all of our hearts!
When our expectations are delayed, we can experience disappointment, discouragement, and disillusionment. Hope delayed or deferred when we are waiting for a job, battling a health issue, or as Carol shared, struggling with three painful miscarriages can seem like forever. As we eagerly hope for something important and it’s postponed, the longing can make our heart sick.
But let’s not forget the second part of the verse because it gives us the opposite of hope delayed, “but desire fulfilled is a tree of life.” The tree of life represents the renewal of life and refreshing times that we can put our hope in. The promises of God help us to hold on tight in some of our most difficult situations. When the good arrives we feel a revived spirit. When "all things work together for good" that's when we see each puzzle come together. Isn't it a great feeling when we TRUST God’s timing for each problem's puzzle piece?
This is so important - when trust is lacking or underdeveloped we struggle to depend on God’s perspective and His promises during the dark days.
Remember as I said a moment ago, our hope must be fixed on God’s perspective and God’s promises! Carol needed to know that God was not absent from her problem, and that He’s very much a promise keeper if she trusts Him as she walks THROUGH the valley! And isn’t that what all of us need to do too?
God bless you!
Pastor Dave
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