“Hope deferred makes the heart sick [weary]. But when the desire comes it is a tree of life” Proverbs 13:12
“Hope deferred makes the heart sick. But when the desire comes…” Do we see “but if the desires come; is that what we are seeing? If you carefully look at the sentence, it made use of definite words. That same desire that was at the beginning, when it comes, it is a tree of life” you know, when I consider the phrase a tree of life; a tree of life produces the fruit of life. The fruit that when consumed or the laves that when consumed, produces abundant life. Hope deferred makes the heart sick, it wearies the heart, it can make the heart to be broken, it can make any man or woman to be discouraged, to lack morale. What is going on? The hope is deferred. Hope deferred is different from hope denied. It has not gotten to the point of denial. It is just at the point of deferment or delay. But the Bible says, “It makes any heart sick”. But when the desire of any heart comes, it is the tree of life — it makes a man or woman come to live.
Let us examine the book of Ecclesiastes chapter 3 from verse 1, the Bible says, “To everything…” perhaps, you could also tell yourself, ‘To your own desire,’ which I don't know, to your own quiet desire of your heart, the Bible says, “to everything, there is a season. A time for every purpose under the heaven.” So, that thing that is a desire of your heart, the Bible says there is a season for it. I'm not sure whether you or anyone around you began this year praying and fasting saying, “Lord, let there be rain this year. Lord, let there be rain this year. Let there be rain, Lord. Lord, let July not be dry in Jesus’ name,” do we normally pray like that in Nigeria? Majorly, in July, there is usually consistent and frequent rain. It's a matter of time.
It is a matter of the season, when we are in the season, we experienced it. We don't need to pray for it, we could desire it, but we don't need to pray for it; why don't we pray? We don't pray because we know that this season, maybe the current season we are is a dry one and is not the season for the rain. It is just a matter of me being patient. It's a matter of me keeping faith and being hopeful, that the rain will come. The rain will come so much that, I will be asking God, when will this rain stop?
The Bible says, “the hope that is deferred makes the heart sick.” Again, the Bible says, “Everything has a season.” And we usually hope for things, places, or people. Everything, everyone, or every place has a season. And a time for every purpose, you intend to do something; to build a house, to get married, Jesus said, “Who wants to build a house, who will not first sit down,” that is a purpose. What is the purpose here? It is to build a house, while another person could want to build a career, a business, or to build a marriage. Somebody could also have a purpose to get pregnant and give birth to a baby after nine months and nursing the child. And what the Bible is saying is for every purpose, there is a time.
From verse two of Ecclesiastes chapter 3: “A time to be born and a time to die.” You don't have to drag it. When it is time for something or someone to be born, the person will be born. When it is time for somebody to go, the person will go, “A time to plant and a time to pluck what is planted”. Now, do you remember that each time we plant, especially, if you're planting when you are in lack, we will want it to mature almost immediately? For instance, I'm in lack vegetables, if I were to plant them today, I would like the vegetable to mature tomorrow morning. Do you understand? Usually, when we lack something, we want the maturity to be instant — latest tomorrow morning. But it doesn't work like that; when we plant things, they don't even begin to bud overnight. Some take days or weeks.
So that we can have the right perspective with our desires, don't forget, it is the only desire that is not met; that is not coming to reality, that the heart is fainting or the heart is getting sick. When the hope is deferred, the hope is for a desire; you don't hope for something you don't desire, you hope for what you desire. For us to know the right attitude we must have concerning our desires, the Bible says it is in the manner of a man planting and does not wait on the farm until what he planted has matured. So, what attitude should we have?
A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck what is planted; 3 a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; 4 a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; 5 a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; 6 a time to gain, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to throw away; 7 a time to tear, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; 8 a time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.
So, knowing this, the Bible now says from Ecclesiastes 3:1: “To everything, there is a season, A time for every purpose under heaven,” whether you call it a discipleship purpose, marriage purpose, or leadership purpose, the Bible says, “there is a time for it”. Usually, when the Bible says there is a time for it, the Bible is saying there is a time for it in the order of you planting, and in the order of you waiting until what you planted has matured so that you can harvest what you've planted. That is the order. Haven stablished that, let us consider the book of Act of the Apostles chapter 1 from verses 4-8 and bring it home to drive home the point on discipleship:
“And being assembled with them, He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father (do you see that), “which,” He said, “you have heard from Me; 5 for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.” 6 Therefore, when they had come together, they asked Him, saying, “Lord, will You at this time…. is that not consistent with our attitude as people? We want things done now: I want to get married now, I want to give birth to children now, to graduate from school now, or do I want them to start giving me money now? “Lord, will you at this time, restore the kingdom to Israel?” Now, let me remind us of what happens.
Imagine a man of God went for a crusade or a conference, and the Word of God came powerfully and somebody felt touched, and he said, “I cannot continue like this; I want a change of story. I want to give my life to Jesus. I want to follow Jesus. I want my life to be according to the purpose of God for my life.” Don't forget that is a desire, a purpose; an intention. But it will become an aberration if such a brother or a sister begins to assume or begins to imagine that that change, the turnaround or everything, that he desired would start taking place immediately. Is it possible for somebody to be in Christ, yet live an inconsistent life? Like there is an authority in Christ, and you have become born again, you are expected to start seeing certain things, but yet you are not seen it. Do you understand?
Look at this again, when a person has chosen to come into Christ, but the person wants to start manifesting immediately. And the person is like if indeed I am born again, why is my life like this? In the Book of Judges, an angel came to Gideon and was telling him nice things. And Gideon said, “If the Lord is with us, why are we in this mess?” That's to give God the impression that it was not in the intention or purpose of God, that they should be out of the mess. But the Bible says, “To everything, there is a season, A time for every purpose under the heaven.” If God had purposed to deliver them, then that means that there is a time for their deliverance.
If you can call something a purpose in God, then it has a time also in God. That's why the Bible says, “God makes all things beautiful in His own time”. And that time is not defined or determined by you, it is determined by God.
So, if you know something has to do with God in your life towards bringing about the actualization of his purpose on the earth, then tell yourself, ‘There is a time for that thing.’ They said, “Lord, will you at this time, restore the kingdom to Israel,” of course, God desired and have determined that the kingdom should be restored to them. But they were eager, just like us. They were expectant, just like us, and if it doesn't happen, what will happen to their faith? The Bible says, “Hope that is deferred makes the heart sick.” Once the heart is sick, what will happen to the faith in the heart? It will be weak.
Look at what Jesus said, “And he said to them, it is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in his authority, but you shall receive power” perhaps, the reason you have come into Christ is that your life should demonstrate power. Jesus said, “You shall receive power” in case you think it will be accidentally received by you. No! God didn't say that. He said, “You shall,” meaning surely, compulsory. “You will receive power,” nobody can deny you the power. But how will you receive power? “You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you.” When Jesus was speaking to them, the Holy Spirit has not come upon them, so they had not received power. So, if you were in their shoe, you had not received power but Jesus told you, you will receive power, what would you have done? The first thing is if you believe in Jesus, your faith, then you expect. What my Lord is telling me, I believe it, I expect it; I will receive power. So, your hope will be strong; day one, day two, week one, week two, week three, you have not seen the power, what could happen to the hope?
Because it looks like your hope is deferred, there is a tendency for your heart to get sick. But what happens when the power comes upon you? Bible says, “It is like a tree of life.” You're excited. Now I live and know I will do whatever I have proposed to do, why? What you needed has come to you. But what you needed will come, it is just a matter of time, even though there was a possibility that you doubted it or you felt it might never come. Whatever it is you need or expect will come to you — you only need to stand in faith. Many times, when we sleep, we sleep in hope that we will be refreshed. You also have this hope besides those who wake up in the middle of the night to use the restroom, that you will be awoken. So, in confidence in God, you sleep in hope trusting God that tomorrow morning, I shall arise and be stronger. Sometimes, when we sleep on good beds, everything about our bodies become rejuvenated. Do we understand? But that took place in hope that you would be awoken.
So, He said, “You will receive power,” just like you will wake up, and feel better when you wake up. Sleeping in hope through faith. The moment there is no more hope, I stay awake. I cannot afford to sleep the sleep that would rob me of life. Do we understand? So, usually, when there is hope and faith, what do we do? We could say we wait in hope with faith that what we're hoping for is going to happen. Ah, it's just a matter of time, I will wake up. I may not wake up by 2 AM or 4 AM or 6 AM; but I will surely wake up, why? I believe; I will wake up. How many of us believers today talk to our lives in other areas of our lives in that manner beyond sleeping and waking up?
The Bible says, “Let the weak say I'm strong. Let the poor say I'm rich.” It looks like I don't have now, but I will have it. I will have all you say I shall have. You don't have children and you say I shall be fruitful. You are saying it in hope with faith. You are saying that this thing is an intention of God, it's a matter of time, and it will become a reality. Because if it is a purpose, then there is a time for it. It's not about you just saying, “Oh, I will be rich, I will be rich,” and you just said, “so, where's the money?” Oh, there is no money, it means I'm not going to be rich. That will be foolishness. When you say you will be rich, there is a declaration, a declaration of your hope, believe it because time is required for you to see it, that's all.
He said, “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you,” it is a matter of when not if. So, what is that thing that is a desire of your heart, but the devil is giving you the impression that it will never materialize? Remind the devil that when a desire comes, it is like a tree of life. I'm not going to give up even though it looks as if in my life, I can’t see progress very well; I know something is happening. Let us quickly see something in Matthew chapter 4 from verses 18-22, see what the Bible says, “And Jesus, walking by the Sea of Galilee, saw two brothers, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. 19 Then He said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.”
The men were not jobless, they had a passion for fishing, and they were doing it. Jesus met them and said to them, “Follow Me”. “And I will make you,” not “I might make you.” I will make, talking about a definite action in the future. Jesus was not going to engage magic for their transformation; their discipleship was not going to be magical but will go through a process in time. Jesus didn't jump phases with them. If Jesus said, “I will make you,” it is not as if He had made you already. And Jesus was talking to the people that He really wanted to build the church with. If Jesus didn't give them mouthwatering promises, why do you give yourself mouthwatering promises — my life would just change overnight, I'll just get a good job overnight, I will just become CEO of the company overnight? It will not happen overnight; it will happen over time.
Then He said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.” 20 They immediately left their nets and followed Him.” They did not immediately become fishers of men; they became immediately followers of Him. So, the first necessary thing you do now is not you realizing your dreams instantly, but you realizing your discipleship instantaneously. What must take place now is you following Jesus now; telling yourself the future I'm hoping for, I know is going to happen but is going to take time before it happens, what I must do now, before that thing happens, is that I must follow Jesus now. When people ask me, what are you doing? I'm following Jesus. What about that great vision you shared with us? It will happen; it's a matter of time but now, I am following Jesus.
In Isaiah chapter 46 verses 9 to 10, see what the Bible says, “Remember the former things of old, For I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like Me, 10 Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times things that are not yet done, Saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, and I will do all My pleasure…” Usually, God declares your end to you from the beginning. God has already gotten into your end, your future. Then God will now come back to where you are now, to take you to the future. So, that you know what God wants to make of your life does not mean the things should happen now. God only showed you now; It will happen in time. So, what do you do now? You have to keep believing in God and following Him as He takes you. Maybe, being a person who is supposed to become a pastor of 1000 members, you are starting with one member. Maybe your church would grow to 10,000, you have 10 people. And so, you are growing. And you must be excited, why? Because you know, it's a matter of time. Don't wait to win 10,000 before excitement comes, because that's where we rob ourselves.
Because we cannot see that reality; that dream coming into reality instantly, and we keep our joy. You will start being excited now even though it has not happened. Do you understand? The disciples didn’t say until they saw the power before they will passionately follow Jesus. No, that will never happen. It is in their following Jesus passionately that even guaranteed their empowerment with the Holy Spirit. Somebody once met John C. Maxwell and asked, “What do you do for a living?” “I write and teach leaders on leadership.” And the man said, “That is good. When I become a leader, I will buy one of your books.” According to John C. Maxwell, He told himself, that the only way the young man can ever become a leader is if he buys his book now.
The only reason I will rejoice is when I see it. No, no, you may never see it like that, but you must start rejoicing. Now that the only thing you have is a promise from God, nothing to write home about yet; rejoice and don’t despise the days of little beginning. What is the opposite of rejoicing over something? It is despising it. Esau despised his birthright when he was expected to celebrate it. If he was thanking God for it, rejoicing and guarding it jealously, would he have traded it for a piece of food? Imagine, just one meal, does it not look foolish? That talks about how cheaply he despised it. Dr. Mensal Otabil once preached that it would have been wise if Esau had to Jacob that he would prepare his meals for the rest of his life if he agrees to the birth right, at least, that would have demonstrated a little wisdom on his part.
There was a time Apostle Paul was talking about hope for the future, and he said, “do you hope for something that you can see already? You hope for what you have not seen. But you must still hope. In Hope you do everything. Imagine God saying “the only time I would ever be excited over my creation is when they returned to me.” There is a place in Acts that says, “God offered His only son to the world in hope that they would grope for Him.” But did He do it sadly or joyfully? His presence cannot be full of joy, yet He is doing something in sadness. He doesn't do like that, whatever He does, He does it joyfully. So, when you are hoping for something, let your joy be as if you have seen it.
The Bible says, “Faith is the substance of things hope for, the evidence of things not seen.” It has not been seen, but you have evidence, so the same joy you will demonstrate when it is manifested, demonstrate the same joy when it is not visible. When God said, “I will make you a father of nations,” but you are still a father of nobody, you must start living as if you have become the father of nations. I don't know if you understand. If that hope will ever materialize, you must sustain your faith. The Bible says, “Whatever is not done in faith is a sin.” How do you manifest and demonstrate your faith? By how you behave. My bank account is showing 2600, but I'm still rejoicing because it will soon read 2.6 billion. Anyone might ask what are you joyful about, you don’t even own a car. I know, my life is not just about now, but the hope of a beautiful tomorrow. It is a matter of time, it is when we want it now and now that we would begin to compromise; we begin to abandon our faith, and begin to go after alternatives. If God's way of making my desire come to pass is delayed, can I look for how to make it come quick, quick, and sharp, sharp?
Imagine that God has destined Nigeria to compete with the USA in a matter of years to come, but Nigerians don't know, and everyone is working his or her way out of Nigeria because the people did not know that is a matter of time, Nigeria will become a place that even Americans and Europeans will be competing to come to, but the people do not understand. But the people are concerned with the current situation in Nigeria: insecurity, inadequate electricity, insufficient job, lack of functional education, and schools closed. And because of what I'm seeing now, the only option before me is to leave the country. But if you want to be a man of faith that wants to manifest and show the world that you have great hope; Though the fig tree may not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines; Though the labour of the olive may fail, And the fields yield no food; Though the flock may be cut off from the fold, and there be no herd in the stalls— Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation — I will remain in Nigeria.
Show that you're a man of faith by believing in your hope, not in the hope of somebody’s hope. You are the one that has come up with that desire: I want to become a great woman or I want to become a great man; I want to become a man of God. Lord, I want it to be that when I am ministering, thousands of people should be watching me live; millions of people are watching on the internet, believe in your desire. It is not by running away or being sad; we are just praying every day, but we are not seeing anything. You may not see something now, but that doesn't mean God doesn't have that purpose for you — it is in time.
There was a time my dream was when we like to drive a car, I'm a son of a driver, and I have a passion for driving. I can't drive a car; if I don't have a car. And to have a car looks to me then like something that might never happen. Today, to the glory of God, I now have cars, and the desire is now changed, maybe probably to fly an areophane if there is a purpose of God for it. Imagine me killing myself those days over a desire for a car that I lack then and saying when would a car ever come? Imagine if I had wanted to save 1000 naira over 1000 times or a million times, when would I have achieved my desire of buying a car? I was saving at all; would I not have other needs that could warrant me touching the savings? You know, where you saving money and you don't have anything to do with what you are saving, the money will keep rising, right? But when you keep having other needs while saving, you will keep going to take out of your savings until you have nothing left. So, when would this thing ever happen, imagine if I had given up.
Maybe you desire to become a general overseer of a very large church, and you're like when will this thing never happen? You have to keep believing it. “Though the fig tree may not blossom, yet I will rejoice, “let that become your attitude, your disposition. Other people may be sad, but you will be rejoicing. Imagine somebody that says ‘there is a lion on the street’, so I will not come out. While another could say, “there is a lion on the streets, but I would think about how to come out.” Don't give excuses, it will not always be rosy.
When the disciples started following Jesus, in the hope that they will become fishers of men, it was not all rosy. When Jesus intercepted Apostle Paul on the road, and Jesus shared the vision with him that became his hope, when Apostle Paul was talking to Governor Felix, he said, “I cannot disregard the heavenly vision”. At one point, he said, “For this hope, I am being persecuted”. What is hope? Resurrection, the hope of eternal life. Do you understand? For your hope, you will face persecution. For your hope you will suffer; there will be times you will drink garri and you have to drink it as if you are drinking cornflakes; one is made of corn while the former is made of cassava, what is their difference? But somebody is like “can’t I also drink cornflakes or golden morn? It is not compulsory. In time you will drink it. This time that you are in, just calm down. Thank God for what you're drinking. You drink and the thing goes through your digestive system and comes out as waste, nourishing your body, that is a miracle. It is the Lord’s doing and marvelous in my sight.
Some people will eat, they cannot excrete what they eat, they have to look for a way to get the substance out, and this happens almost regularly, with a lot of money to get it out. So, whatever you have, rejoice, and give God thanks. Let your eyes be on the price. Don't look away. Don't disregard it. Even though you are not crowned as king now doesn't mean you will die the way you are. Royalty is yours; dominion is yours; the crown is yours. But you must keep going. Keep pressing on; keep believing. Keep producing the fruit of righteousness. When others are saying there is a casting down, you are rising up to say there is a lifting up for you. It does not matter if airplane is flying up, you are saying there is a lifting up for you. In the midst of lack you are saying there is abundance and behaving it.
If you want God to commit Himself to you, be a man who has hope in faith, who has hope with faith, who has hope and does not disregard it. Don't take your hope for granted. Your hope is your future. Your hope is your expectation. “I hope that my husband will become the greatest man in his lineage. I hope my wife will become the greatest woman on earth.” In hope of that, keep laboring, keep sowing, keep praying, keep believing, and confessing your hope and faith so that in time, you will see what you're hoping for.
