New Beginnings
“Hope deferred makes the heart sick, But desire fulfilled is a tree of life.” (Proverbs 13:12 NASB)
“When hope’s dream seems to drag on and on, the delay can be depressing. But when at last your dream comes true, life’s sweetness will satisfy your soul.” (Proverbs 13:12 TPT)
Yesterday, I mentioned Mt. Horeb, a mountain near Midian, where Moses fled when fleeing from Egypt (Exodus 2:15, 3:1). Horeb means “desolation, a waste place, barrenness,” all by-products of hope deferred.(1) Could any place have more accurately pictured what Moses had experienced? Forty years later, Moses was tending his father-in-law’s sheep on this mountain when God encountered him at the “burning bush” (Exodus 3). Here at this encounter, Horeb is introduced as “the mountain of God” (verse 1); it is, indeed, also known as Mt. Sinai.
Many incredible and significant events occurred on this mountain, several of which also pictured God’s ability to transform barrenness and desolation into fruitfulness and life. Moses’ restoration is one of them.
One of the negative side effects of hope deferred can be a loss of confidence. This is especially true when you feel that your own decisions have created the situation. The resulting lack of belief in your ability becomes a straitjacket, binding your creativity and paralyzing you with fear. Moses, the great leader of Israel during the exodus from Egyptian slavery, is a prime example.
Once upon a time, in what seemed like a fairy-tale life, Moses was filled with self-confidence. And why not? Saved from infanticide, pulled from a basket on the bank of the Nile, adopted by the daughter of a king, and raised in a palace, Moses lived in a bubble where he had everything going for him. But the bubble began weakening when he discovered he wasn't actually an Egyptian. It started leaking air when he killed an Egyptian in order to defend an Israelite. And it finally burst when he was forced to flee for his life to Midian. So much for fairy tales.
Moses seemed to adjust fairly well, accepting his fate and creating a decent life in Midian. He found a wife, started a family, and became a rancher. After forty years, Moses seemed to have lived a contented life. But that all changed on one of his visits to Horeb. A bush started burning without being consumed, Moses began hearing a voice speak from it, and the quiet life of a has-been dreamer was rudely interrupted.
"Go back to Egypt," the voice said, "and set My people free from their slavery in Egypt." (See Exodus 3:6-10)
One can only imagine the shock Moses must have felt. The assignment may have surprised him more than the flame-resistant, talking bush. And when he finally realized this was actually God talking to him, Moses's responses were very revealing.
“But Moses said to God, ‘Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh, and that I should bring the sons of Israel out of Egypt?’" (Exodus 3:11)
“Then Moses said to the Lord, ‘Please, Lord, I have never been eloquent, neither recently nor in time past, nor since You have spoken to Your servant: for I am slow of speech and slow of tongue...Please, Lord, now send the message by whomever You will.’" (Exodus 4:10-13)
Moses's self-confidence had been crushed by the events of forty years ago. Trained as a leader by the finest minds of Egypt, he now felt confidence only with sheep, "Leave the nation leading to others," he thought, "I laid down that dream a long time ago."
But God persisted with a few more miracles, some very revelatory dialogue, and the rest, as they say, is history. Moses did, indeed, go back to Egypt and was used by God to deliver a nation from four hundred years of slavery to become the most significant nation on earth.
Can you imagine anything more ironic than God using a mountain, the name of which means "desolation or barrenness," to picture new beginnings? But He did; God transformed Horeb into "Fresh Start Mountain!”
God can metamorphose barrenness and the pain of hope deferred into such wholeness that Horeb, as impossible as it sounds, becomes a place of new beginnings. It was on this mountain that Moses's calling was restored (Exodus 3-4). He no doubt believed his destiny was lost forever. And no place could have been a more accurate picture of this. It must have been a constant reminder to Moses of his hope deferred, adding insult to injury: "Not only is my life Horeb, but I work there."
Moses was so filled with hopelessness that in these two chapters, God was never able to bring him to a place of believing in his renewed calling. He consistently insisted to the Lord that he was not qualified and didn't want to do it. Finally, God simply said, "I've heard enough! You are going to do this" (See Exodus 4:10-17).
God cares more about our destinies than we do!
In the New Testament, the apostle Paul's spiritual son, Timothy, was discouraged. Timothy was a young man who found himself leading what had become perhaps the largest and most significant of the early churches, Ephesus. He was facing very challenging circumstances. Timothy's hope deferred had shut down his gifts. If not remedied, heart disease and barrenness would follow.
Paul, knowing he would soon be martyred, had to act quickly and decisively. He gave many instructions to Timothy, but began by telling him to "kindle afresh" his gifts (2 Timothy 1:6). The Greek word translated as "kindle afresh" is filled with insight. Anazoporeo(2) is actually composed of three Greek words: Ana(3) means “up or again"; zo traces back to zao,(4) which means “alive”; and pureo is from pur, meaning "fire."(5) This compound word means “to bring the fire back to life,” or “keep in full flame.”(6) “The present tense conveys the sense of progressive, continuous action. Keep kindling the gift afresh or make it your aim to continually keep it at full flame.”(7) Figuratively, it also means “zeal,” or “inflame one’s mind.”(8)
Used by Paul in the context of Timothy’s gifts, he was telling him, "I need your gifts to come alive again!" My interpretation would be: "I need your passion to be rekindled, which will reignite your giftings."
When the fire goes out, your gifts go with it.
Paul reminded Timothy that he had been called "with a holy calling... according to [God's] own purpose and grace" (2 Timothy 1:9). Purpose (prothesis)(9) means "the setting forth of someone's purpose (thesis) in advance (pro)." God has a destiny for us, and He is committed to its fulfillment. He is the beginning, the end, and, when necessary, a renewing in between! But there is more to prothesis.
Our English word prosthesis is derived from this Greek word. A prosthesis is an artificial body part, such as an arm or leg, constructed to restore purpose to that which was lost. Paul was encouraging his spiritual son Timothy, saying, "Hey, man, don't forget that God gave you a destiny. And when life seems to have cut off that purpose, He can restore it. Now, start burning again!"
The great verse in Romans 8:28 uses prothesis. "And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose." This verse is saying that no matter what part of our purpose has been cut off, God has already prepared the prosthesis that will restore it. What a great promise for those suffering from hope deferred.
Horeb, as much as any other place on earth, illustrates this. There, new beginnings are brought forth from the ashes of desolation and the pain of hope-deferred. In this barren place, we discover that God is bigger than our enemies, our mistakes, sins, shortcomings, and fears. There is hope, even at Horeb, for us as individuals…and for nations.
Pray with me:
Thank you, Father, for entering into the whitewashed tombs of our hope-deferred hearts, bringing new life, revived destiny, and renewed relationship with You. We are grateful for Your commitment to our destinies and for Your desire to fan into flame the gifts and callings You’ve placed within us. We choose to embrace the thoughts and plans You have for us, plans to prosper us, to give us hope and a bright future. Take those who are experiencing hope deferred back into wholeness, just as You did Moses and Timothy.
Some have experienced hope deferred regarding our nation, which is certainly barren, also pictured by Horeb. But You transformed Horeb to Sinai, and made it a place of new beginnings. Give us a fresh start in this nation. Heal us of our depravity and brokenness, deliver us from evil, and restore us to your prothesis. In Jesus’ all-powerful name, amen.
Our decree:
We decree that we, like Timothy and Moses, are burning with passion once again.
Click on the link below to watch the full video.
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James Strong, The New Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1990), ref. nos. 2717 and 2722.
Ibid., ref. no. 329.
Ibid., ref. no. 303.
Ibid., ref. no. 2226.
Ibid., ref. no. 4442.
https://www.sermonindex.net/modules/articles/index.php?view=article&aid=34322
Ibid.
Thayer, Joseph Henry. A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament. (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House 1977).
Strongs Concordance, Reference number 4286.
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