2 Peter 3:8-9 …that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years like one day. The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.
It is natural that we want to live on our own time clock. I’m not talking about your Outlook calendar. I’m speaking of our perspective of time.
If we want something today, to wait a month seems like a long time. If we pray for something this month, a year is forever. If we ask God for something this year, a decade seems like He doesn’t hear or care. That’s OUR time clock as finite humans.
A Thousand Years Feels Like a Thousand Years
God understands this… but it doesn’t change HIS way of viewing time. II Peter 3:8-9 is specifically talking about Christ’s return and the end of this age. Peter is encouraging us not to think God has forgotten about us or that He won’t keep His promise to return and make all things RIGHT and NEW. To us, a thousand years is like… a thousand years. But to God, it’s a blink.
That’s the specific point Peter is making in context of the passage. On a broader application to our daily life, we can take that same encouragement for our circumstances, our prayers, our purpose in life, our joy:
- Do you feel like God is not answering your prayers? Get on God’s time table and know that He hears and cares.
- Do you feel like the circumstances of life are hard right now and God is not sending relief? God is not SLOW in answering from His perspective, only ours.
- Do you things are not happening FAST enough, even good Godly things? Learn to live by God’s watch and you’ll find everything happens exactly when it should.
God By Default
I get lots of emails and questions from people asking “why does God [allow, do, not answer, cause, ___________ ]” hoping to have me provide an answer to their question, circumstances or uncertainty. Obviously, unless there is a clear Scriptural response, I cannot even begin to guess about God’s reasons nor would I try. I have a hard enough time speculating about other sinful people (ME being the “other”) much less taking a foolish guess at God’s private thinking.
I often encourage people to consider is this: THINK ABOUT WHAT GOD IS BY DEFAULT. He is good. He is love. He is mercy. He is fair. He has our best interest at heart. He is all knowing, all powerful and sovereign. He knows perfectly, sees perfectly and plans perfectly.
If we truly agree that all things things are true about God BY DEFAULT then we can be at peace with the “slow” timing involved. God will answer, move, change things, provide or relieve according to HIS DEFAULT character.
Resting in the knowledge and belief about what is true of God BY DEFAULT allows us to see and accept God’s TIMING even if it does seem like “a thousand years” to us.
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