How many times do you hear yourself saying "I hope ......."? You know you do it more than you think. "I hope traffic isn't bad today". "I hope my kid does well on his/her test". "I hope this new President does a good job". "I hope I get this promotion". I know I'm probably busting your chops for something you don't even think about, a statement that is more slang that anything else, but I was really challenged today as I read Proverbs 13:12, Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life".
Why is my longing anything else then Jesus? What is my hope in? Man, my kids, my wife, my job? Those things will always fail me on some level. But a longing, a desire to be connected to the vine, to be one with Jesus is promised to be a tree of life.
So, these words are easy to write in this blog, but harder to live out day by day. That is why we need to renew our minds every single day through His word and in prayer with Him. He is our hope. He is our desire. HE IS OUR LIFE!
God, please make me a faithful follower who places my hope in YOU, my trust in YOUR plan for my life, my worries and cares at YOUR feet!
Philip J.
