Day after Night after Day
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2 Peter 3:3-10
3. First of all you must understand this, that scoffers will come in the last days with scoffing, following their own passions 4. and saying, "Where is the promise of his coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things have continued as they were from the beginning of creation." 5. They deliberately ignore this fact, that by the word of God heavens existed long ago, and an earth formed out of water and by means of water, 6. through which the world that then existed was deluged with water and perished. 7. But by the same word the heavens and earth that now exist have been stored up for fire, being kept until the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men. 8. But do not ignore this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. 9. The Lord is not slow about his promise as some count slowness, but is forbearing toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.
I am so very grateful that God waits for me to “get it” when he tells me something or reveals something to me! I almost said when “he tries” to tell me something. Of course the shortcoming is not in his message -- it is in my ability -- or lack thereof -- to receive it! His patience is greater than even my lifetime, as he created the earth eons ago, and so has a different perception of time--he can wait years and years for me to figure out what he wants me to know -- because a year is but a blink of the eye in God’s time.
The challenging part of that truth is that because God was been around forever, I tend to grow impatient with his perception of time! I ask for immediate answer to prayers; I expect instant response to requests for guidance and revelation. I grab at any word spoken by another and take it as a sign from God. What I should do is sit quietly and wait on God. Being human, I cannot perceive of God’s time -- a day is like a thousand years. I think he instilled within us a sense of urgency to know and understand him, a longing for him, for his wisdom and insight. And that deep longing sometimes gets in the way!
Those who don’t know the truth, may think we’re fools to believe that God’s timing in perfect. They don’t know what we do--that while an event or incident may seem untimely in the moment--later God will reveal his purpose. Or later God will use a tragedy or a painful experience to help us grow, to become more like him so that we can help others when they go through a similar experience. Those who have never felt God’s presence in their lives, can’t understand our certainty of his promise, our absolute trust in his word. Scoffers abound. Do not listen. Do not believe them!
The word of God brought the world into existence. How can one doubt that kind of power? That same God still reigns in heaven. A mere word and the sun began to shine, a vague thought and stars and planets aligned themselves perfectly in the sky. Day. Night. Day. Night. Perfectly timed. Perfectly planned. Don’t you think a God who can create a universe, can manage to meet our needs? As I have watched the news coverage of the Gulf Coast residents and their plight, one fact is driven home over and over again. When it’s all said and done, God is all we have. We (that’s the collective we, to include myself!) would be well served to remember God is all we Need, before God is all we have left!
My prayer today is that you fall to your knees thanking God for his eternal patience in our struggle to achieve perfection. And that we have the hope and promise of life with him in heaven when he decides that time will end.
Mary
