{"id":56,"date":"2002-04-01T20:07:59","date_gmt":"2002-04-02T02:07:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/melissakaysimonds.com\/?p=56"},"modified":"2012-04-23T20:13:31","modified_gmt":"2012-04-24T01:13:31","slug":"hope-copes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/melissakaysimonds.com\/?p=56","title":{"rendered":"Hope Copes"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cAnd now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.\u201d 1 Corinthians 13:13<\/em><\/p>\n

I think it\u2019s significant that the Bible assigns hope a place right up there with faith and love. It lets me know that God thinks hope is important, that it is a very necessary element to my success in life.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve had a unique opportunity at my place of employment over the past few years. Funny, until the very moment I\u2019m writing these words, I haven\u2019t quite looked at the events that have befallen my professional life as an opportunity. It started back in 1998 with a promised pay raise\u2014a substantial raise. Then, when everyone\u2019s hopes were high, the raise didn\u2019t materialize. Not that it wasn\u2019t given at all\u2014it just wasn\u2019t given to a very small group of which I happened to be one. The reason was arbitrary: as simple as being in the wrong place at the wrong time. The result was an exaggerated sense of devaluation.<\/p>\n

My point is this: like it or not, the psychological impact of this little scenario was profound. I watched expectations melt away. The bright future people had envisioned seemed to crumble and fall through their fingers. So extreme was this perception that some people abandoned 10- or 20-year investments in their careers. They simply quit. Many who stayed grew jaded, some even bitter. We became a textbook example of Proverbs 13:12, \u201cHope deferred makes the heart sick\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

People need hope. We need to expect to see our desires fulfilled. It gives us a reason to get up in the morning. When our hope gets damaged, we stop daring to let ourselves desire. That, my friends, is a very great tragedy because life without passion is not life at all, in my humble opinion. I think that\u2019s where too many of us are living: in the netherland of \u201chope deferred\u201d. And according to the Word, we\u2019re sick of heart.<\/p>\n

I want to be whole of heart, strong in heart and spirit. The Bible teaches that even when I\u2019ve had a setback, or a few, I have to open myself up to hope again. I have to dare to cherish once again my deepest desires with the expectation\u00a0they will be fulfilled. How do I manage this? The only way I know is to encourage myself with the truth. What truth? That my Redeemer lives. That I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. That He has promised me the desires of my heart. That I have never, ever seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging. That the heavens and the earth will be removed before His covenant of mercy departs from me. Even from me!<\/p>\n

I have learned one thing with age, one thing that makes getting older a little easier to take: Hope deferred is not hope denied. Though the things I desire are delayed, though my dreams are a little tardy\u2014by my estimate\u2014in coming home to roost, they will surely come. They must. Because the whole of Proverbs 13:12 goes like this, \u201cHope deferred makes the heart sick, but when\u2014not if\u2014when the desire comes, it is a tree of life.\u201d I plan to eat from that tree of life, in this flesh and forever. And until I feast on that sweet meal, faith will be the substance in my mouth. I can wait. The best things are always worth waiting for.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cAnd now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.\u201d 1 Corinthians 13:13 I think it\u2019s significant that the Bible assigns hope a place right up there with faith and love. It lets me know … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8Mo02-U","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":318,"url":"https:\/\/melissakaysimonds.com\/?p=318","url_meta":{"origin":56,"position":0},"title":"Trifecta","author":"lsimonds","date":"November 30, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"\u201cAnd now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.\u201d 1 Corinthians 13:13 Hope gets short shrift, in my opinion. Is it any wonder, the way we throw the word around? Hope is deemed lame\u00a0in our \u201cgo-getter\u201d culture. If there are people who make things\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "2013"","block_context":{"text":"2013","link":"https:\/\/melissakaysimonds.com\/?cat=10"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":289,"url":"https:\/\/melissakaysimonds.com\/?p=289","url_meta":{"origin":56,"position":1},"title":"What The World Needs Now Is Love, Sweet Love","author":"lsimonds","date":"May 31, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"\u201cAnd now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.\u201d 1 Corinthians 13:13 \"Love\u2019s the only thing that there\u2019s just too little of.\u201d Don\u2019t we display a gamut of beliefs as a nation? No, I\u2019m not talking about we the citizens of America. I mean\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "2013"","block_context":{"text":"2013","link":"https:\/\/melissakaysimonds.com\/?cat=10"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1441,"url":"https:\/\/melissakaysimonds.com\/?p=1441","url_meta":{"origin":56,"position":2},"title":"Pandora’s Jar","author":"lsimonds","date":"May 30, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"\u201cWe now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure. This makes it clear that our great power is from God, not from ourselves.\u201d 2 Corinthians 4:7 New Living Translation I came to Christianity as a young adult, and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "2020"","block_context":{"text":"2020","link":"https:\/\/melissakaysimonds.com\/?cat=20"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1231,"url":"https:\/\/melissakaysimonds.com\/?p=1231","url_meta":{"origin":56,"position":3},"title":"What a Mess","author":"lsimonds","date":"April 21, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"For consider your calling, brothers:\u00a0not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. But\u00a0God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise;\u00a0God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "2019"","block_context":{"text":"2019","link":"https:\/\/melissakaysimonds.com\/?cat=19"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":71,"url":"https:\/\/melissakaysimonds.com\/?p=71","url_meta":{"origin":56,"position":4},"title":"Don’t Fake Faith","author":"lsimonds","date":"October 1, 2002","format":false,"excerpt":"\u201cBut when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink he cried out, saying, \u2018Lord, save me!\u2019\u201d Matthew 14:30 Not too long ago, I heard about a woman who was diagnosed with kidney disease among about a dozen other ailments. The doctor recommended dialysis.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "2002"","block_context":{"text":"2002","link":"https:\/\/melissakaysimonds.com\/?cat=1"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1083,"url":"https:\/\/melissakaysimonds.com\/?p=1083","url_meta":{"origin":56,"position":5},"title":"The Waves and Wind Still Know His Name","author":"lsimonds","date":"October 6, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and\u00a0dignified in every way. This is good, and\u00a0it is pleasing in the sight of\u00a0God\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "2018"","block_context":{"text":"2018","link":"https:\/\/melissakaysimonds.com\/?cat=18"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/melissakaysimonds.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/melissakaysimonds.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/melissakaysimonds.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/melissakaysimonds.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/melissakaysimonds.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=56"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/melissakaysimonds.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":58,"href":"https:\/\/melissakaysimonds.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56\/revisions\/58"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/melissakaysimonds.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=56"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/melissakaysimonds.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=56"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/melissakaysimonds.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=56"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}