When Hope is Deferred By Os Hillman

When Hope is Deferred
By Os Hillman
December 11
"So Satan went out from the presence of the LORD and afflicted Job with
painful sores from the soles of his feet to the top of his head. Then Job
took a
piece of broken pottery and scraped himself with it as he sat among the
ashes. His wife said to him, 'Are you still holding on to your integrity?
Curse
God and die!'" (Job 2:7-9).
I walked into the room and Angie burst out crying. "I'm so discouraged! I
don't know what else to do. Will I ever get better!?" After three years of
fighting
a medical condition the doctor just told her no progress had been made in
the last six months of treatments. Alternative treatment was needed that
might
have more severe side effects.
Great men of God with healing ministries had prayed for her. Thousands had
prayed for Angie through our ministry. A string of doctors had failed to
yield
any position results. When hope is deferred, the psalmist says, the heart
becomes sick. During these seasons, we can only do one thing. We must hang
onto
whatever faith we have to get through each day and entrust our lives to Him.
"Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines,
though
the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no
sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the
LORD,
I will be joyful in God my Savior" (Hab 3:17-18).
When faith doesn't see results it challenges what we believe. We must pray
as Job prayed: "Teach me what I cannot see" (Job 34:32). God says there is a
purpose in everything we go through. Later that day Angie talked to a friend
who once had the same issues, but was now better. "Angie, God is going to
reveal things to you through this season of adversity that you would never
receive had you not gone through this. This is part of your calling even
though
Satan is the instrument. God is always bigger than Satan's afflictions. "
Our greatest tests come when we cannot see positive results from our faith
and obedience. In such cases we must die to our expectations and entrust
them
to our Lord.
Contact Os Hillman at
www.marketplaceleaders.org.