ODJ: the waiting

November 24, 2015 

READ: 2 Peter 3:3-16 

The Lord isn’t really being slow about his promise. . . . No, he is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent (v.9).

Since so many people are desperate for work, I’m grateful for my husband’s job. But his retail work with its agonisingly long hours can be ruthless on a family. Accustomed to evening meals and weekends together, these 4 years living as almost a single mum have seemed very long. One evening I was feeling particularly tired. I sighed to my father that I didn’t know how to pray anymore. After many years of praying for a breakthrough in his own life, he knew how I felt and encouraged me from God’s Word—renewing my hope and resolve.

The events making the news, along with our personal struggles, can leave us feeling disillusioned. And the reminder that Jesus will come back to set things right can seem insensitive and out of touch. The apostle Peter pleads with us never to forget who God is; He made the heavens and earth by His word and He also cleansed the ancient world with a mighty flood. A similar cleaning awaits the natural world, this time by fire (2 Peter 3:5-7,10).

Although we may lose heart and grow weary with the cares of this world, Peter reminds us that God’s timekeeping is very different from ours. He wrote, “A day is like a thousand years to the Lord” (v.8). He isn’t being slow about His promise—He’s being patient because He doesn’t want anyone to be separated from Him for eternity. So He’s giving everyone time to repent and receive salvation through Jesus (vv.9,15).

—Ruth O’Reilly-Smith

365-day-plan: 1 Corinthians 13:1-13