Proverbs 13   (Beware strong language)                                                                                                                                                                                                                          

Good morning son,

I want to rush into today's study as quickly as I would like to see the results from the application of God's word in my life – like yesterday. Indeed the verses are right in line with how I feel this morning.

Proverbs 13:12
“Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life.”

Proverbs 13:19
“A longing fulfilled is sweet to the soul, but fools detest turning from evil.”

Psalm 13: 1-2, 5-6

“How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? How long must I wrestle with my thoughts and every day have sorrow in my heart? How log will my enemy triumph over me?”
“But I trust in your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in your salvation. I will sing to the Lord for he has been good to me.”

The passages that leaped off the pages into my spirit this morning walk hand in hand with each other. They seem to give a complete understanding that absent each other would be lacking. Let's start in Proverbs.

Vs 12 and 19 both speak of a “longing” fulfilled – a desire of long standing. They must be examined in parallel and in conjunction with each other otherwise you might miss the character of the longing that is fulfilled. We can all relate to the first part of vs 12 – growing sick for something that we have wanted for a long time.

Momma P can always tell when I am fighting being depressed or “heart sick,” for in spite of as much as I try not to, I stop doing all sorts of seemingly little things which make the whole household run smoothly. Forget about picking up clothes – not done. Removing your plate from the table to the sink – forever forgotten. Making up the bed when you get out of it in the morning – what bed? Am I really up? Why is this happening?

Remember a couple of days back when we spoke of the heart being the source of the essence of who we are, our internal being where the eternal comes to reside and transform us from the inside out. Well when the heart is “sick” that transformation from the inside out is still occurring but its like having leukemia, where the sickness is being spread from the place where the healing should flow. So naturally, the first to go are the things you just think that you don't have to think about. And where a deep seated desire has been there, unfulfilled for a long long time, it is sickening to the core. It is no wonder that the writer notes that its fulfillment is the tree of life! That is, it is the tree of life unless the desire is outside of God's character – that which is not best for us.

All of us have had such desires. Maybe it is for that new car which you know will be of such “service for the Lord” and will give HIM such glory. Of course how could it not? A brand new fully loaded Beamer with a bumper sticker subtly proclaiming the glory of God. A bumper sticker with a small gold cross with crown in the corner, that reads: “this is what my daddy gave me. Who's your daddy?” Obviously God is glorified.  LOL I honestly don't understand why He hasn't bless me with that car yet. A heart based desire unfulfilled, . . . look out, I am beginning to feel faint. (LOL)

Or maybe the desire is for THAT one – you know the one – the one that makes your heart skip just thinking about them. You are nervous all around them. You loose your cool cat demeanor when they come around. In fact you become down right unsure of everything you would do and say. You know the one who . . . when you are around them . . . you begin to feel that unmistakable yearning in your groin, that burning desire, that . . . . .

WOOWW there horsey!! Did you feel that? That's EXACTLY the point! You felt that didn't you! You have such a strong desire. A heart felt desire felt thoughout your entire being. I don't understand why he doesn't seem to be hearing that one? Hey, you've found the tree of life. Right?

Vs 12 only tells us part of the truth. The other half of it is found in vs 19, which sets the parameters of for this desire – its character, its nature.

The fulfilled longing which is “sweet to the soul” is contrasted with the conjunction “but” and “turning from evil.” This simple “but” says to us that the character of the desire which, when fulfilled is sweet to the soul, is not evil but good. What do I mean? It is that the desire is good, it is within God's will for us, not contrary to His word, does not cause us to stumble or fall.

Please note that the desire may not be evil in its self – however, its timing and the means of acquiring it may be evil. For example: There is nothing wrong with having the desire for THAT one that causes that particular burning in your loins, in your inmost part, nor in its expression – at the proper time, i.e. within the parameters of marriage. Otherwise you may find yourself doing it under the authority of man not God you know what that is. It has a term going way back to the days of the king – “F.U.C.K.” or "Fornication Under the Consent of the King." Problem is it is still fornication – sex outside of the design of God, and no earthly king can save us from the consequences of such actions, even the earthly king of ourselves. There is but ONE true King and He is not you or I.

So we see that a right desire – in accord with God's Word, His heart for us – when this character of desire is fulfilled it is the tree of life, is sweet to the soul. Well I guess I will just go on home, I Got Word now. But why is it that if it is a longing that is right in accordance with God's will for me that I have the desire delayed? Why not just give it to me now? Is it really His will that such a desire be delayed?
And what do I do in the meantime while waiting?

I can't tell you why you have to wait. I could pontificate (big word that just means talk on and on like an authority on a matter -result you tune me out LOL) as to possible reasons. I could even use scripture to show you why. Maybe another time. But for now what is most important is that we realize that it is often his desire that we wait and struggle during the wait.

Remember Psalm 13: 1-2

“How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? How long must I wrestle with my thoughts and every day have sorrow in my heart? How log will my enemy triumph over me?”

Wow God. This plan of yours, well God . . . it simply seems to suck! I have to wrestle with my thoughts, have sorrow in my heart? I have to live through seeing my enemy triumph over me? This sucks. What am I supposed to get out of this Lord?
Well I am glad you asked.

Look at Psalm 13: 5-6

“But I trust in your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in your salvation. I will sing to the Lord for he has been good to me.”

Biblical scholars argue about this passage. Some say that 5-6 was after God had delivered the writer. Others argue that it was written during the time of longing, of having a desire unfulfilled. I agree with the latter. I believe that it was not after but during his longing and unmet desire. See it is during the darkest points in our lives, those moments that we do not see the Hand of God working and moving in our lives, when we do not seem to hear His voice so clearly, when we are bleeding, seemingly with no way of stopping the flow, when we are crying out in front of our enemies from our oppressed state, when we are “tore up from the ground up” that we need to trust in His unfailing love oh the more so. It is when my knees become worn out as I daily, hourly and immediately cry out to the God of my salvation. Indeed the Hebrew word used for trust (batah) in the translation is in the present tense. So the passage would be interpreted as “But I am trusting in your unfailing love.”

So in the meantime we trust in His unfailing love.

We also rejoice in His salvation. Now remember that we said the the trust is present tense. The rejoicing also must therefore be present tense. But if it is there seems to be a contradiction for the rejoicing seems to be being done during the time that the desire has not been fulfilled! What's happening here? “the just shall live by faith” (you know the drill – look it up) By faith we in the midst of the longing rejoice in God having fulfilled the longing although the only evidence we have of his having done so is His word that He will! We stand on the word of God. We know that no purpose of his can be thwarted! We already know that the desire is of the Lord then we know that He will cause it to be. His unfailing love is directly tied to his unfailing salvation! He will not fail to grant us the longing of our heart, as our heart is in accord with His.

So we rejoice in His salvation of us, His fulfillment of the longing He has placed within us in the midst of the seeming lack of such desire. And then, . . .

We sing to the Lord for he has been good to me.

Interesting thing, this singing to the Lord stuff. In the midst of not seeing His hand granting me the desire of my heart, a desire in line with His word and His will for me, I am to find that which is good to sing about. “His mercies are new every morning . . .” “Great is His faithfulness.” Yes. I am indeed to look at how awesome he is in meeting our needs even in the time of not having met our desires. Paul asked to have a thorn in his flesh, something which was bothering him greatly, removed. God's answer – “my grace is sufficient.” Unless we learn that we can be “content in all circumstances” we will never learn to have no fear in pressing forward, in being bold at what we have been called to do – in being bold in doing much good. We won't be free to be all that we have been designed to be!  And that freedom is essential to living the abundant life God has for each of us!

Well I did not set out to see the why we have to wait and struggle in that waiting. But perhaps we did find it. God wants us to experience the freedom of trusting Him in all things, of knowing his unfailing love for us in and through the dark places of our lives. He will fulfill His longings within us and he will keep us in the meantime while we wait upon Him. We must simply do the work of trusting, rejoicing and singing praise to him.

May God grant you the longings He has placed in your heart. And while you are waiting may you trust in His unfailing love, rejoice in the sure knowledge of His salvation and remember and sing praises for all the goodness He has showered upon you in the midst of your enemies.

Love yah,

dad