20 October 2009 Devotion for Today "Heart Sick" Proverbs 13:12-15

20 October 2009 Devotion for Today "Heart Sick" Proverbs 13:12-15


12 Hope deferred makes the heart sick,
But when the desire comes, it is a tree of life.
13 He who despises the word will be destroyed,
But he who fears the commandment will be rewarded.
14 The law of the wise is a fountain of life,
To turn one away from the snares of death.
15 Good understanding gains favor,
But the way of the unfaithful is hard.
(Proverbs 13:12-15)

Have you ever been sick at heart? I have been occasionally. It’s the awful, sinking feeling of extreme disappointment that comes the moment that one realizes that after months or even years of hard work and anticipation, the thing which one earnestly seeks or labors is not going to materialize. Many of those reading today can relate. When we lose sight of our hope, life just becomes a process of just settling for second best. A hard worker gives in to the rat race. A teacher gives in to the feeling that he or she is no longer making a difference in the lives of children. A father no longer sees the purpose for caring for his family and gives up. The youthful idealism blows out and he becomes jaded and embraces the status quo. Mediocrity begins to seep in everywhere because It is just easier to get by rather than to do ones' best. We begin to exist in a shell of a life instead of seeing ourselves as a part of a greater purpose. People like this feel like they are "finished" and turn to just existing rather than living.

One of the reasons why people's hopes have been crushed is because they have built their lives around the wrong hope. When their hopes are deferred or crushed, their life's purpose is crushed along with it.
Sometimes people simply lose sight of their hope and sell out to the distractions of life around them. When the distractions become the motivating force in their lives, then their purpose fades when their distractions fizzle out.

But as Christians, we have a greater hope- like the song says, "a hope that is built on nothing less than Jesus' blood and righteousness. " This is a hope that will never fade. When we see things fading, it means we need to get back to the source of our hope. Perhaps we need to go back and take another look at what God had in mind when He made us. We may not be living for His purpose, and realize that we will only be satisfied when we rest in Him. He did not make us to live someone else's life. He made us to live in Him. The reasons we have hopes and dreams is that God made us a certain way that is unique to us. You can settle for second best purpose and be satisfied for a time, but only in His purpose will we really feel satisfied.

Another thing is, God can use our disappointment to develop our character. He uses times like these to get us to refocus our minds upon Him instead of what we were looking toward when the things for which we placed our hope began to fade away. I have to admit that the times I grew the most in life were the times that I was between churches or when I was looking for employment.

Are your hopes beginning to fade-are they starting to slip away? Behind the clouds, the "Son" is shining. Look beyond them and you will see your greatest hope of all. Get back to the "fountain of life" once again.

Prayer: Dear Heavenly Father, I must admit at times I get myself distracted by the most meaningless things when I fail to keep focusing upon You. Help me not to settle for mediocrity or just getting by and enable me to live for Your purpose. In Jesus name I pray, Amen.

Have a blessed day!