The Gift of Hope Deferred

by Doyne Phillips, Managing Editor

It is now the day after Christmas. The gifts we took days and weeks to find for that special person have been given. As those gifts were opened we watched the expressions on their faces hoping our efforts brought pleasure. At our home the seven grandchildren were playing with the boxes and wrapping paper instead of the toys. One of the two year old twins walked in showing me a baking potato she had found in the kitchen cabinet. If I had only known that was what she really wanted I could have saved myself a lot of time and money.  


Those gifts we wished and hinted for have been opened. We have had time to look them over and enjoy all the advantages of ownership. Now we know if our desires and expectations have been met. Were these items all we had hoped for or are they disappointing? Are we too now playing with the boxes and paper or looking around for a baking potato?

Life can be like waiting on Christmas presents. Like children we wait for that day to come when we receive the gifts we desire. We live each day with hope, joy and expectations of great things to come. But unlike Christmas, where we can count the days, in life we do not know how long it will be until that thing we desire arrives. Proverbs 13:12 NIV reads, “Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life.”  It is natural that we become heavy hearted or anxious waiting on that which we desire. But as it states here when it comes it is a tree of life. If these things we desire aren’t satisfying we may have hoped for the wrong thing or there may be more.


We must be aware when desire comes it may be the first step toward even greater things to come. This thing you desire may be the door opener that prepares you for many other great things to follow. Londa Hayden wrote in Suite T The Gift of Leadership that her pursuit of her passion to write led to a leadership role in a writers group. The realization of this thing you desire may be the foundation for what is really ahead for you.
What is your “hope deferred”? What is your desire? Better yet if it has come, what could possibly be next? Are you vigilant and open to what it may be? Talk it over with someone that knows you well and share what you discovered and where you are heading.