Devotion for Today "Hope Deferred" Proverbs 13:12
The story is told of two Americans who were visiting a South American country when
they both ran afoul of the law and faced death by a firing squad. Before their
execution the squad commander asked if they had a final request. The first said,
"Right before I die, I want you to play that Macarena song so I can do that dance
one last time." The Commander said, "We can do that." He then turned to the
next man and said, "Do you have a final request?" The man said, "Yes. Shoot me
first!"
Have you ever had the feeling that things were going too well? Have you ever thought
something bad must be about to happen? Perhaps you feel the feeling of hopelessness
and desperation coming over you today. The feeling of hopelessness causes people to
resort to desperate measures. I am told that in Cuba, almost 100 teenagers are reported
to have intentionally self-injected themselves with the AIDS virus. They know, of
course, that the virus will kill them in a few years. Oddly enough, their motive
isn't suicide; it is security. In Cuba, all AIDS victims are confined to sanitariums,
where they experience a level of comfort many Cubans never see: three full meals a
day, air conditioning, no power outages, and no police. They give themselves AIDS,
they say, to be liberated from society and obligatory work. In the early 1990's,
Castro introduced a new national slogan: Socialism or Death. These individuals chose
death.
But we do not have to make that choice. Solomon says in our Proverb today: "Hope
deferred makes the heart sick, but when the desire comes, it is a tree of life."
When the pall of hopelessness is draped over your life, there is a deadness in the
pit of your stomach that makes you want to die. The evil one knows this and has
worked effectively to destroy the lives of many people with this deadly blanket.
But Jesus Christ is that tree of life. Christ blows away the cloud of hopelessness so
that the streaming sunlight of His love can nourish and warm you so that you may
grow and thrive, and have something better to look forward to. Have a blessed day!
The story is told of two Americans who were visiting a South American country when
they both ran afoul of the law and faced death by a firing squad. Before their
execution the squad commander asked if they had a final request. The first said,
"Right before I die, I want you to play that Macarena song so I can do that dance
one last time." The Commander said, "We can do that." He then turned to the
next man and said, "Do you have a final request?" The man said, "Yes. Shoot me
first!"
Have you ever had the feeling that things were going too well? Have you ever thought
something bad must be about to happen? Perhaps you feel the feeling of hopelessness
and desperation coming over you today. The feeling of hopelessness causes people to
resort to desperate measures. I am told that in Cuba, almost 100 teenagers are reported
to have intentionally self-injected themselves with the AIDS virus. They know, of
course, that the virus will kill them in a few years. Oddly enough, their motive
isn't suicide; it is security. In Cuba, all AIDS victims are confined to sanitariums,
where they experience a level of comfort many Cubans never see: three full meals a
day, air conditioning, no power outages, and no police. They give themselves AIDS,
they say, to be liberated from society and obligatory work. In the early 1990's,
Castro introduced a new national slogan: Socialism or Death. These individuals chose
death.
But we do not have to make that choice. Solomon says in our Proverb today: "Hope
deferred makes the heart sick, but when the desire comes, it is a tree of life."
When the pall of hopelessness is draped over your life, there is a deadness in the
pit of your stomach that makes you want to die. The evil one knows this and has
worked effectively to destroy the lives of many people with this deadly blanket.
But Jesus Christ is that tree of life. Christ blows away the cloud of hopelessness so
that the streaming sunlight of His love can nourish and warm you so that you may
grow and thrive, and have something better to look forward to. Have a blessed day!
Jeff Russell
Devotion for Today
Salem Baptist Church
Elizabeth City, NC
jefferyrussell@earthlink.net
salembaptistch@earthlink.net
Web address: http://25621.lifewaylink.com
Devotion for Today
Salem Baptist Church
Elizabeth City, NC
jefferyrussell@earthlink.net
salembaptistch@earthlink.net
Web address: http://25621.lifewaylink.com
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