Hope deferred makes the heart sick.  Proverbs 13:12

The word of the LORD came to me:  "Son of man, what is this proverb you have in the land of Israel: 'The days go by and every vision comes to nothing'? Say to them, 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: I am going to put an end to this proverb, and they will no longer quote it in Israel.' Say to them, 'The days are near when every vision will be fulfilled.  For there will be no more false visions or flattering divinations among the people of Israel.  But I the LORD will speak what I will, and it shall be fulfilled without delay.   Ezek 12:21-25

Today God wants to break the power of hope deferred and birth within us a new level of faith in Him and His word.  We are living in a new season and prophetic voices across the nation are hearing the same words the Lord spoke to Ezekiel thousands of years ago: we are coming into a season of acceleration where God’s words will be fulfilled without delay!

Sometimes when we have been waiting for a promise to come for a long time, weariness can become to creep in.  And subtly, our hearts can become hardened in unbelief.   Now we know that faith is the substance of things “hoped for” (Hebrews 11:1).  Our enemy knows this too and so this is why he works so hard to steal our hope and replace it with despair or passive acceptance of our circumstances. He knows that without hope our faith will be crippled.  

So we must fight for our hope!  Where do we find this hope?  Hebrews tells us.

Because God wanted to make the unchanging nature of his purpose very clear to the heirs of what was promised, he confirmed it with an oath. God did this so that, by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled to take hold of the hope offered to us may be greatly encouraged. We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. Heb 6:17-19

As we meditate on God’s unchanging nature, instead of focusing on our seemingly unchangeable circumstances, only then will we find our hope anchored, firm and secure.

Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.
2 Cor 4:16-18

Today let us choose to turn the page on past hurts and past disappointments.  Today let us choose to risk again, to hope again, to live again!  Today let’s choose to believe what the Lord is saying to us:  the days are near for the fulfillment of every vision!

Prayer Points and Practical Actions

1)      Ask God to reveal to you areas where deferred hope may have made your heart sick.  As He reveals these points, find and declare words of faith, from the Word and/or from things God has spoken directly to your heart about these situations. 

2)      Meditate on Hebrews 6:13-19 and 2 Cor 4:16-18  Ask God to give to you a greater revelation of His nature, of His eternal glory.  Take the time to be intimate with the Lord.  Our only hope and only strength can come from abiding in Him and knowing Him better.

3)      Make this declaration today:  God I choose to fix my eyes on the unseen, on the eternal.  I refuse to look at the circumstances around me, in my own life and in my nation. I declare that everything around me is temporary and subject to change.  Only You and Your word are eternal and I thank you that you are working all things for good, in my life and in Canada, according to Your perfect will.  I trust that You who have started this good work will bring it to completion, according to Your purposes, in Jesus name.  Amen!