Hope deferred

Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a desired fulfilled is a tree of life.
- Proverbs 13:12

God calls into existence all things that do not exist. (Rom 4:17)

This is a fundamental truth of the Bible. It expresses the communicable attributes of God to His creation by the things that He creates. He has the preeminence in all things, and in Him all things are created. Including hope.

Hope is designed to press us forward. In a general sense, hope can often be something that is an illusion, an imagining that is desperate, or feeble, or even futile (wishful thinking!).

In general, it is legitimate to see ‘hope’ as a future expectation, even if it be illusory! (JR)

Hope teaches us patience which in turn causes us to wait patiently, but at some point hope can disappoint, especially when it is not a biblical hope, and becomes the source of our trust.

To hope in hope will bring disappointment, and make our heart sick.

In hope Abraham believed against hope, meaning (at least in my estimation), that hope became his starting point, but his belief in the promise of God that the words spoken to him would indeed come to pass, took over.
No distrust made him waver concerning the promise of God (Rom 4:20)

We are not saved by grace through hope, rather, we are saved by grace through faith. Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of the things unseen, so then we must walk by faith and not by hope.

I don't hope in my salvation. I know I am saved, through faith in Christ.

Hope waits, faith walks. If hoping in something begins to make our hearts sick, then it just might be time to step out in faith and believe God for it. Hope and faith work in conjunction with one another. They are inseparable.

A desire can only be fulfilled as we trust God to fulfill it.
Every desire starts off in hope, but must end in faith!

This is what builds character, and character hope, and hope will not disappoint.

Let's together unite our hope in the soon consummation of these:

1. Righteousness (Gal. 5:5): b). Salvation (1 Thess. 5:8) c); Resurrection of the dead (Acts 24:15); d) redemption of bodies (Rom.8: 23, 24); e). Eternal life (Jn.17: 3) and f). The return of Jesus (Rev. 22:20).