Hope makes us keep going, but hope that is deferred for too long can cause despondency and depression. During the Second World War, many European prisoners of war died in Japanese camps not because they had no food, but because they lost all hope of being liberated.
The most hopeless situation of all is that of not having the gospel (Ephesians 2:12; 1 Thessalonians 4:13). A people without the gospel is not only impacted spiritually, but also physically. The fear of the Lord is indeed healthy for us (Proverbs 3:7–8).
12 Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a desire fulfilled is a tree of life.