Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a desire fulfilled is a tree of life.
Proverbs 13:12, English Standard Version
A Quick Exegesis
Proverbs 13:12 powerfully states that we need hope in our lives for our hearts to be healthy, but that’s not all it says. We hear the first part of this verse repeated often, but we rarely look at the second part of the scripture, let alone the whole meaning of the verse.
We can look at the Hebrew transliteration and clearly see the author of this verse is talking about a weak or sick heart where “heart” represents our inner man, mind, or will. Let’s take a quick look at all three of these areas. Our inner man can represent our soul as we exist today with its mind, will, and emotions. Our mind containing our emotions takes us to a complicated place of potential positivity and negativity. Emotions are feelings and they are temporary. Emotions are not who we are, they are fleeting within the scope of eternity. Our will represents our free will which God gave humans to make choices for Him or against Him.
The second part of the verse is very straightforward. A desire is a feeling to want something or want something to happen. God places desires in our hearts that support our calling and purpose. We can also create our own desires from our flesh, which can get us into trouble.
The Tree of Life is now more accessible to us because of what Jesus did. We must believe in and trust Jesus to have access to the Tree of Life. The good news is that Holy Spirit came to us, and He teaches us everything we need to know to mature and grow closer to Father God.
Hope Reimagined
In the entirety of Proverbs 13:12, we can see that a person without hope can become desperate and long for a happy life, identity, and purpose. Without a strong identity in Christ as sons and daughters of God, and an understanding of our calling and purpose, we can have a hard time finding meaning in life.
It is without hope one can become depressed, fearful, and even suicidal.
Hope is defined as a feeling of expectation of something happening or trust that a desire will be fulfilled. The thing is, we can trust God. God does what He says He is going to do; He is not a liar. God has made all of us many promises throughout the Bible that we can count on happening. Our Bible is a manual for finding hope, faith, and love.
We need to desire the Word of God, which is Jesus Himself as stated in John 1:1–3 to be set free from negative machinations. Our minds must be on the Word with our faces turned toward God in this season. It’s time to use our righteous and sanctified imaginations to desire the things of God.
I repeat, it is without hope one can become depressed, fearful, and even suicidal.
To have hope, find your calling and your purpose, and walk toward doing them. God will meet you as you walk, and He’ll give you new hope and renewed meaning to live.
I sat down with the Lord to inquire for today’s topic and He told me about the Keys of Truth. Keys are the understanding, opening and strategy to help you be stronger and grow in your relationship with the Lord. It also helps us walk out our journey and be in fellowship with our brothers and sisters. It helps learn about the Kingdom and how it operates.
You see, all the shaking in the world today and the last year has to do with lies that are being confronted in the way the world operates. We serve a God who is Truth. In a simple understanding, lies can be shaken and don’t last. Everything that is not of God will not stay or work. It’s in our best interest to discern the lies from the truth especially in this hour of history.
In the Hebrew language, the Hebrew word `aman means the following: assurance, establish, firm foundation, believe and believe in, verified, pillars, supporters of the door, sure, lasting, uphold, nourish, confirm, reliable, to be certain and trusted. It means to turn to the right and stedfast.
The word for lies, in the Hebrew word Ka-zav means fail, vain, deceitful and a liar. In the Greek the word pseudologos is used meaning, speaking lies. We know that pseudo means false, counterfeit or fake.
These definitions make it quite clear about their meaning and intent. Lies straight up cause failure and everything opposite of what the truth means.
The first thing He showed me is “Truth is the way out.” It is the way out of being stuck. stagnant, the prison of our own thinking, lies we believe, ( strongholds) and not having a clear direction.
The Truth opens up the door of your heart/mind. Truth has no fear in it. It’s safe.
It unlocks the lies we believe. Your heart is presented with the Truth to breakthrough the lies.
Truth is a firm foundation.
Truth is the Highway for the journey and destiny. The Truth is like arrows that are shot and always hit the target.
The scriptures and God are the only ones with absolute and pure truth. Our hearts get clouded with lies, opinions and vain imaginations. Often lies are caught, passed on, brought in by an outside source, and just plain old not knowing the truth due to our human nature. We also can fall prey to lies because we don’t put the effort into searching out the truth of a matter. It’s hard work to find the truth and apply it.
Here are some supporting scriptures as follows:
Hebrews 4:12 ESV – 12 For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.
Deuteronomy 32:4 KJV – 4 [He is] the Rock, his work [is] perfect: for all his ways [are] judgment: a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right [is] he.
1 Kings 17:24 ESV – 24 And the woman said to Elijah, “Now I know that you are a man of God, and that the word of the LORD in your mouth is truth.”
Esther 9:30 ESV – 30 Letters were sent to all the Jews, to the 127 provinces of the kingdom of Ahasuerus, in words of peace and truth,
Job 34:12 ESV – 12 Of a truth, God will not do wickedly, and the Almighty will not pervert justice.
Psalm 5:9 ESV – 9 For there is no truth in their mouth; their inmost self is destruction; their throat is an open grave; they flatter with their tongue.
Psalm 15:2 ESV – 2 He who walks blamelessly and does what is right and speaks truth in his heart;
Psalm 25:5 ESV – 5 Lead me in your truth and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; for you I wait all the day long.
Psalm 43:3 ESV – 3 Send out your light and your truth; let them lead me; let them bring me to your holy hill and to your dwelling!
Psalm 45:4 ESV – 4 In your majesty ride out victoriously for the cause of truth and meekness and righteousness; let your right hand teach you awesome deeds!
Psalm 51:6 ESV – 6 Behold, you delight in truth in the inward being, and you teach me wisdom in the secret heart.
Psalm 86:11 ESV – 11 Teach me your way, O LORD, that I may walk in your truth; unite my heart to fear your name.
Psalm 119:43, 160 ESV – 43 And take not the word of truth utterly out of my mouth, for my hope is in your rules. … 160 The sum of your word is truth, and every one of your righteous rules endures forever.
Psalm 145:18 ESV – 18 The LORD is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth.
Proverbs 12:17 ESV – 17 Whoever speaks the truth gives honest evidence, but a false witness utters deceit.
Proverbs 23:23 ESV – 23 Buy truth, and do not sell it; buy wisdom, instruction, and understanding.
Ecclesiastes 12:10 ESV – 10 The Preacher sought to find words of delight, and uprightly he wrote words of truth.
Isaiah 10:20 ESV – 20 In that day the remnant of Israel and the survivors of the house of Jacob will no more lean on him who struck them, but will lean on the LORD, the Holy One of Israel, in truth.
Isaiah 45:19 ESV – 19 I did not speak in secret, in a land of darkness; I did not say to the offspring of Jacob, ‘Seek me in vain.’ I the LORD speak the truth; I declare what is right.
Zechariah 8:16, 19 ESV – 16 These are the things that you shall do: Speak the truth to one another; render in your gates judgments that are true and make for peace; … 19 “Thus says the LORD of hosts: The fast of the fourth month and the fast of the fifth and the fast of the seventh and the fast of the tenth shall be to the house of Judah seasons of joy and gladness and cheerful feasts. Therefore love truth and peace.
2 Timothy 4:4 ESV – 4 and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths.
1 John 1:6, 8 ESV – 6 If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. … 8 If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
1 John 5:6 ESV – 6 This is he who came by water and blood–Jesus Christ; not by the water only but by the water and the blood. And the Spirit is the one who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth.
2 John 1:2 ESV – 2 because of the truth that abides in us and will be with us forever:
I put many scriptures up here and there are more. I encourage you to do a search on truth in your Bible program. It’s so important. Truth is our foundation. It can’t be replaced. Also Truth is a fact. It can be proven.
For Jesus says,
John 14:6 ESV – 6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
Song of Songs 1:2 KJV – 2 Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth: for thy love [is] better than wine.
Psalm 85:10 KJV – 10 Mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed[H5401] [each other].
In our heart connection with God, the thought here is to also take that love we receive and be connected with love to our spouse and family. The Hebrew word for kiss here means to attach with fidelity, purity and submission. It also means we are mutually connected and joined together with righteousness which brings peace. This word also covers touch.
There is a physical connection with our families and close friends and a spiritual connection with God. The goal of both is intimacy and connection. In the heart connection, we are vulnerable which brings power, strength and pure love. The more vulnerable we are the more risk we take. The risk involves possible rejection and abandonment. This involves our hearts to be open to receive. Today I often find people have a very hard time receiving and believing that people are real and are open to love and be loved.
People are unwilling or do not know how to enter into relationship with God or their personal relationships because of fears. They become isolated and miss out on a very big part of life. They most likely are not connected to God with a real heart connection. This keeps them from having real relationship with others and especially the people closest to them. I realized that fear chokes the life out of love. Anywhere fear is present in life’s path, it prohibits moving forward and growth in love.
God from the very beginning in Genesis, created us for relationship. Genesis is a good book to start reading for foundations of God’s love for us. The whole word of God has to do with relationship in some form or another.
Our heart connection can often get blocked by our emotional realm. I have discovered that it is one of the primary factors in a disconnect or interference for us to receive from God. It colors the lense we see thru to see and interpret what is coming into our heart. This is the enemy’s main tactic is to insert fear and damage our emotions. The emotions actually soften our hearts and ignite the God given power of love that he wants to impart to us.
Our soul realm contains our mind/heart where the information stays when deposited. The next is our emotions which is like the radar or gate that tells our heart what to let in or not let in. The will is the seat of choice.
Identifying with the basic emotions of glad, sad and mad, brings some clarity in defining our heart condition. If we follow the encounters we have with people and what it evokes in us, we can identify what is keeping us from connecting. We may have a lot of work to do on our part in learning how to have relationship and change our behaviors with the help of God, Holy Spirit and Jesus. Reading the word breaks up the hard ground in our hearts and coming into worship. Worship breaks off fear and shame. It clears the atmosphere and breaks off pain. It heals and brings clarity. It gives us wisdom and deposits love into our hearts.
I am going to bring more on this heart connection in this blog. It is so important to Love God and ourselves and our neighbor. If we go down the road of an unattended heart it causes the disconnect from the source of all life. It brings illness, loneliness, heartache (more than necessary), hopelessness, depression, and lack of life-giving moments, days and lifetimes of love.
God loves us more than we can understand.
Luke 15:4 KJV – 4 What man of you, having an hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost, until he find it?
Matthew 18:12-14 KJV – 12 How think ye? if a man have an hundred sheep, and one of them be gone astray, doth he not leave the ninety and nine, and goeth into the mountains, and seeketh that which is gone astray? 13 And if so be that he find it, verily I say unto you, he rejoiceth more of that [sheep], than of the ninety and nine which went not astray. 14 Even so it is not the will of your Father which is in heaven, that one of these little ones should perish.
John 10:10-11 KJV – 10 The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have [it] more abundantly. 11 I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.
We just launched a new podcast called Hardwired for Life’s Jesus Loves Mewhere we discuss the love of God. We’ll be talking about how to recognize Jesus in the little things, how to receive His love, what He’s like, how to recognize Him, and more.
These are challenging times we live in and knowing the love of Jesus brings us peace and understanding. Be encouraged to know that we can find peace and happiness through the Lord. Life can be good in the middle of the storms we experience.
Love is the most important thing in life after salvation. We are to love God first, then others as we love ourselves. Right!?
Easier said than done.
First of all, we need to know what love is and Google says it’s “an intense feeling or deep affection.” To which, I am lovingly unmoved.
I have asked God to teach me and show me what love really is for many years now. I had significant traumas as a child, so love has been a hard one for me. I now know that I grew-up without much love at all. My Mother never told me she loved me and died when I was 32. I didn’t have a Father the majority of the time, the first one hated me, and the second one abused me. I do believe my Grandparents on my Mom’s side loved me, they just never said so.
The only chance I had at love was with Jesus and God my Father. I remember Jesus with me as a small child. And by the way, God is the best Father ever! He has shown me love that I cannot describe.
The love He first showed me was about “caring.” He showed me that He cares for me more than any human ever could. He’s danced with me, held me tight, and He prompts me to care for myself. He reminds me to rest, to take my meds, to make a phone call to a friend, and to love myself dearly. And He’s shown me how to love others.
His love is so intense I can’t describe it. I can hardly stand in His presence. He drapes His love over me like a warm embrace. When I feel His love, I start to cry.
I have asked God to teach me what love is countless times and will for endless days. I believe that we are only experiencing a fraction of what His agape love is.
I can now love myself though I still have work to do. Plus, I am able to extend that love beyond my immediate family to others. Sometimes I meet someone for the first time and tell them I love them. That’s God. That’s proof He’s working Love into my life. All things are possible.
I was looking for a specific verse for this post and this was the “verse of the day” today:
Love overlooks the mistakes of others, but dwelling on the failures of others devastates friendships Proverbs 17:9 TPT
Again, that’s God. I’m meeting with a new friend today, so I’ll be sure to love her. I’ll take the risk that she may not love me. I’ll have courage to step up and allow God to love her through me. And I’ll thank God for all the love He’s shown me.
Today, I bless you with God’s true love. I pray that love washes over you and permeates your life.
Love is large and incredibly patient. Love is gentle and consistently kind to all. It refuses to be jealous when blessing comes to someone else. Love does not brag about one’s achievements nor inflate its own importance. Love does not traffic in shame and disrespect, nor selfishly seek its own honor. Love is not easily irritated or quick to take offense.
Excerpt from Hardwired for Creativity: Art Supplies for the Mind to be published later this year by Jana Rawling with contributing writers Sharon Luzzi and Amanda McKinley.
Explore
First things first, ask God to show you how you’ve misused your imagination and fantasy thinking. Repent, forgive and pray for a sanctified and righteous imagination to serve the Lord. We must surrender our imagination to Jesus just like everything else in life. We are to pick up our cross and follow Him, daily, and this is crucial to our walk of salvation.
The unsanctified imagination serves Satan. Period. Remember, there’s no lukewarm in Christian living. We are either for Jesus or against Him. We can engage our imagination in unholy blatant rebellion or in faint worrying, both are sin. Worry is sinful, because we are not fully trusting in the Lord’s provision in our lives. Instead, we are believing lies from the enemy. We can be entertaining pornography or fantasizing about a relationship, again both are sin. We can get lost in an ungodly movie or book, sin. The key is recognizing these behaviors and doing something to change them. God wants our full attention with honor and respect as His children.
Enough of that, let’s talk about godly imagination and fantasy.
The imagination is sparked by the “what ifs?” And when we are connected to and hearing from the Lord, we can trust that the “what ifs” are placed inside our hearts by God to begin with. The “what ifs” are our desires and they lead to more of them until we begin to get answers, find solutions and experience new life. This is how the Creative Spirit co-labors with us. He plants the seeds of imagination and we water them to bear fruit.
We use our righteous and sanctified imaginations to fuel our creativity, visions and dreams. When we are connected to God and trust our discernment, we can trust what we imagine. We can always ask God for more discernment. We can envision our life as positive, healthy, and serving the Kingdom of God. We can fantasize about heaven and imagine bringing all that’s there to earth. We can reimagine our future careers, ministries, health, finances, families and communities. We can meditate and see ourselves as functioning productively in the Body of Christ.
Our imagination and fantasy become tangible supernaturally. There’s power in the thoughts and words we use. Second Corinthians 10:5 (TPT) says, “We can demolish every deceptive fantasy that opposes God and break through every arrogant attitude that is raised up in defiance of the true knowledge of God. We capture, like prisoners of war, every thought and insist that it bow in obedience to the Anointed One.” We must take care with our thought life.
Imagination increases our faith as we read the Word of God and wonder at its secret treasures. It builds our relationships with Holy Spirit, Jesus and the Father. It tackles our problems, feeds our desires, and gives us holy encounters. If we are faithful believers, we already depend on our imagination. We believe in what we cannot see.
Hebrews 11:1–3, says “Now faith brings our hopes into reality and becomes the foundation needed to acquire the things we long for. It is all the evidence required to prove what is still unseen. This testimony of faith is what previous generations were commended for. Faith empowers us to see that the universe was created and beautifully coordinated by the power of God’s words! He spoke and the invisible realm gave birth to all that is seen.” This book, the one you’re are reading now, is evidence of the unseen. Its contents come from co-creating with God. And it gives me more faith in His trusted Word and in the creative imagination.
Express
Imagination is a cornerstone of creativity. When we imagine we are seeing the unseen, hoping for possibility, and daring to make something new. We can imagine from the Creative Spirit, from the heart, mind, our spirit, soul and from the flesh. We use a combination of them all when we partner with Holy Spirit.
It’s important to know ourselves enough to know where our imagination is coming from and how it will affect our life and those around us. Is it coming from our soul? Our spirit, our flesh? Or from Creative Spirit? It might matter if you suspect any unholiness in a thought or idea, or when you’ve neglected to consult with Holy Spirit. When you are not sure of where your imagination is coming from, ask Jesus to reveal it to you. When we imagine we need to remember that words are powerful. Thoughts are powerful, so we must keep them in alignment with God’s will and purpose for our life.
Our flesh has its own latent power that can accomplish wonderful things even though we can make mistakes using it. We can learn amazing things through failure and mistakes that often come from our flesh, mind, spirit and/or soul—each of which can become corrupt or broken. We are made of these parts and we cannot discount or ignore the integral synergy of them all in our lives. We can’t pick and choose which to exhort without neglecting the other parts. People who focus on a spiritual life may neglect the body, and vice versa. Our body is our temple and it holds memories, illnesses and trauma that need to be healed.
We cannot overlook that from our fleshly body we sense and feel. We have emotions from our mind and soul. And our spirit is always interacting with the spiritual realm and Holy Spirit. All from whom we are, we imagine, and we create in wholeness.
Experience
When you are developing a mission statement, vision statement or manifesto you are imagining a state of being. We can imagine making that touchdown, frosting the perfect cake, and writing that compelling letter to create something physically tangible. We create a state of being or something physically tangible when we dream about our future, when we want something to change in our life, and when we envision accomplishing something.
You are essentially creating by imagining in the spiritual realm and when you put energy into it, it begins to manifest on earth. You conceive it in your heart and birth it into existence. A couple of powerful ways to create is to make “I imagine…” statements and do “visioning” exercises. First, pray and spend time with God worshiping. This way, you can better ensure that what you imagine is from Him more than from you and He will guide you. He will tell you and show you what He would like for you to create, birth or make manifest.
To the Fatherless Generation who I have My Mighty Hand on.
Your place in History is a great one.
I had to have a Fatherless generation to put my imprint on………. My character, My love, My very proof of My love. A chosen Generation to to bring My Love on the earth A Generation without the imprint of a human father.
So I could breathe the breath of My life into them. The DNA of my essence. My complete person. All that I have to to impart, You were given to cover the nations. A Love that is full and complete in Me. No one can change what I put into you. No one can claim that it was otherwise. I will manifest myself in you for all to see. You had no other training except by Me. You are formed and molded by Me. My hand scooped out the areas that were not of Me. Areas that were left undone, My Mighty hand formed your heart to conform to mine.
Your heart looks like mine.
No malice, no rudeness, not hate, not impatience, not vanity, not self seeking, not evil, not doubt or fear,not proud, not boastful, not destructive. Your heart doesn’t remember when it has been wronged. It is pure and has innocence. My Mighty hand has kept you and protected you. I have brought you into that place with Me in perfect Love.
Your heart looks like mine.
This Fatherless generation is mine and no one can have credit.
Man has abandon his relationship with Me. So I have picked it up in My Great and Radical Grace and Mercy to bridge the gap, the breach of My covenant with man. I have produced a generation who will smell like Me, look like Me, taste like Me, act like Me, Love like Me, and show all the kindness to all people like I would.
There will be no mistake who My Fatherless are.
Because they are no longer Fatherless, for I have not abandon them or left them by the wayside. I have healed them, delivered them and prepared them for the age ahead. The New Day…….The Reign of My Son. So once again, My ways of Love will be seen and felt. Where man has abdicated his role with Me, I have kept My word, of My covenant and picked up where man has laid down his participation in My covenant. I have raised up Sons and Daughters to reaffirm My covenant and My Love for My people. I have this Fatherless generation to be My brand, My fiery brand on My Beloved. They have gone thru more than anyone can bear.
They have suffered greatly for My names sake. Their faith has brought them through. The crushing they have endured has brought forth the fragrance of My Love.
My Love to be presented to the world.
The crushing wiped out all of themselves and allowed Me to be fully present in them. You will know them by their Love for each other. The fragrance of their Love will permeate the world. They truly are the heart of their Father.
Their absent father’s, father’s who abandon them, hurt them , who mistreated them, who they never saw, who left them, who didn’t affirm them, who tried to destroy their own flesh and blood, their father’s who did every evil thing to them and did not succeed and keeping them from their destiny.
This Fatherless generation has been born with tender hearts toward Me that the enemy has tried to destroy. The intimacy that is within them the enemy has tried to fill with every sexual sin, tried to destroy any hope of knowing their identity, tried to destroy with all of the death culture, fill their hearts with every kind of lie about who I am.
The lie of self leading to narcissism. Every lie regarding worship of Me. Every man made part of idol worship. Every place in a man’s heart to be turned elsewhere.
I am coming to bring out all the lies especially about intimacy with Me. I am raising up those who have overcome. They will rule and reign with Me.
I will bring them soon to fruition to expose the chains and lies holding back My Presence.
My Glorious Presence. My Glory which will permeate the earth, no longer will the physical and the flesh hold back My people. I will uncover the shame covering up My Glory. I am calling to those shredded hearts by the enemy to become whole in My presence. All the pain will lift and the restoration will begin. My people’s hearts will be restored to Me. Their then will be Fathers connected to Me.
I am stepping up the gap between Myself and My people. Those who have suffered greatly at the hands of the enemy will have much restored to them. Restored in such a way that they will be renown. They will also trusted with My Kingdom. For they know Me.
For those who have suffered at the hands of the enemy from sexual perversion the call is great…… Your heart was called to carry a large capacity of love to My people. The enemy stepped into fill it with the wrong information to subdue the Kingdom with a message of subjection to the FLESH. You are credited with great ability to carry the Love of My SPIRIT. Satan has unduly attacked you so as not to be able to produce the Love you were created to carry. You are overcoming generations of strongholds(lies that we believe) about the outpouring of True Love. Satan has not succeeded.
For some of you I am finishing your healing and will expedite it in this season. I will finish you in due season. I have started the surgery. It will soon finish so the healing can begin. Your hearts will be ready to bring forth the Love designed to change the world. Your hearts will know Your hearts will know for sure that it is Me working in you. Not something superficial or half way. It will be a permanent work in your heart For some of you it will seem a little strange at first but I will make all things clear and distinct. This will be a defining moment You will not be foggy anymore It will come forth with clarity The Love is designed to bring others thru the same darkness you once knew or experienced. They will carry their Daddy’s heart His fury will be unopposed in the coming days Great healings and restoration will come upon the people Something they have never experienced before. Their love will far surpass anything that has ever been seen or will ever be seen again. For they will truly carry their daddy’s heart.
This generation will overcome the workings of the flesh and show the overcoming in the Spirit shown with HIS GREAT LOVE.
Hardwired for Life 
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