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

I think that gardeners might be some of the most hopeful people on the planet. I have to add farmers too…maybe even on a grander scale. They put in the ground what looks like dead seeds, hoping the rain will come…hoping the sun will shine…that life will appear, pushing itself up out of the soil. And sure enough most times it does just that.

What about the years crops fail? Not enough rain? Too much rain. Temperatures too hot, too cold? What then? More likely than not, the next season, the gardener will plow the land again. Fertilize. Tend. And wait. The hope in his heart remains.

I watched my Pappy plow a mule and break open the land. He planted every year. I would watch him reach into a seed bag and broadcast seed in a perfect pattern. Cover that seed. Fertilize and wait.

Some years there was a bumper crop. Some years an average one and some years almost none. But the hope in his heart never left. He knew from experience one year, maybe this year or next, hard work and careful attention to what he had planted would give a good yield.

My prayer is that we can apply that hope to our spiritual life. We can stand steadfast on our Father’s Word. We can be certain that what we sow will bring a crop of righteousness.

Some days it seems we are walking in quicksand. We see no evidence of our prayers being answered. We wait for salvation to come in the lives of those we love. Some days it seems the darkness might overcome us. But that is a lie.

Those who sow in tears shall reap with joyful shouting. Psalms 126:5

He who goes to and for weeping, carrying his bag of seed, shall indeed come again with a shout of joy. Psalms 126:6

Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary. Galatians 6:9

So the Word gives us hope. We can walk in the assurance that as we sow, our Abba will in His time answer. We will see the good harvest He is preparing. He would not ask us to walk in hope if He did not intend to honor His Word. We walk in hope, fully confident that our Father is able. He will do what He says He will do.

Dear ones, do not lose hope.