Sick Heart: Hope Delayed

11-07-09

Proverbs 13:12
Life is so much richer with good health. Having a healthy life begins with a healthy heart. Proverbs tells us about the impact delayed hope has on the heart. This knowledge serves as a guide in setting the health conditions upon the heart.

How does hope interact with the heart? Hope sets in us an expectation to which we are drawn. Indirectly it forms an appetite that waits to be filled. This appetite enables us to confront the life challenges as it move toward fulfillment. With hope the future is always brighter and more rewarding. The presence of hope releases a supply of energy that equips us with the drive to get to the next level. The next level where life seems livable, goals seem achievable, promises seem receivable, journeys seem reachable, challenges seem overcomeable, hard times seem passable and enemies seem defeatable as long as there is hope.

When hope is delayed or cancelled the heart becomes sick. Having invested love into a relationship, effort into a job or money into a project only to find out the results will not come as expected brings feelings of disappointment that the investment was not worth it. Unfortunately there are no refunds or exchanges. This happened to me when an employer I worked for six months decided they were not going to pay. The disappointment provided a lesson that established a rule that governed all other employments. The rules acted as a form of protection for my heart. No one likes the expectation to be disappointed because of the negativity it brings.

On the other hand, when the desire comes it is a source of life. Desires are connected closely with life. Having a desire fulfilled beings satisfaction, excitement, confidence, energy and health. The journey toward a fulfilling desire will probably have difficult and discouraging moments, but when the journey is completed maturity is increased. By looking back and realizing how the difficulty and discouragements were overcome elevates us to a level beyond the level of that challenge. A similar challenge would not be as alarming or as challenging.

The existence of completed desires is a source of life. The more desire fulfilled the more of life you have to draw from. Keep the hope alive.